Science Fictions Stuart

Medicine, education, psychology, health, parenting - wherever it really matters, we look to science for advice. Science Fictions reveals the disturbing flaws that undermine our understanding of all of these fields and more.

Celtic mythology, Arthurian romance, and an intriguing interpretation of British history - these are just some of the themes embraced by the anonymous authors of the eleven tales that make up the Welsh medieval masterpiece known as The Mabinogion. They tell of Gwydion the shape-shifter, who can create a woman out of flowers; of Math the magician whose feet must lie in the lap of a virgin; of hanging a pregnant mouse and hunting a magical boar.

Lying northeast of Massachusetts, just south of Hell, Arkham County is somewhere you find yourself, not somewhere you ever mean to go. Once you do find it though, you'd better get used to living there, as you may be there for however long you have left to live.

In the 'fantasy' universe of the phenomenally bestselling Discworld series, everything runs on magic and common sense. The world is flat and million-to-one chances happen nine times out of ten. Our world seems different - it runs on rules, often rather strange ones. Science is our way of finding out what those rules are. The appeal of Discworld is that it mostly makes sense, in a way that particle physics does not.

The name’s Bond. Shaman Bond. Actually, that's just his cover. His real name is Eddie Drood, but when your job includes a license to kick supernatural arse on a regular basis, you find your laughs where you can.

They call them halfheads: convicted criminals, surgically mutilated and lobotomized by the State, then sent out to do menial jobs in the community so everyone will know what happens when you break the law. There are no appeals, no reprieves, and no one ever comes back. Until now. Dr Fiona Westfield, one of the most prolific serial killers Glasgow has ever seen, is waking up. Surrounded by blood and death and darkness. William Hunter has risen through the ranks since putting Westfield away; now he’s Assistant Network Director, in charge of police actions.

For hundreds of years, the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table has been one of the world's most precious literary possessions. In 1902, the distinguished American artist Howard Pyle undertook to retell and illustrate this classic. His four-volume work has long been considered one of the outstanding interpretations of the Arthurian cycle.

Iron Man and Captain America are two core members of the Avengers, the world's greatest superhero team. But when a tragic battle blows a hole in the city of Stamford, killing hundreds of people, the US government demands that all superheroes unmask and register their powers. To Tony Stark - Iron Man - it's a regrettable but necessary step. To Captain America, it's an unbearable assault on civil liberties.

Four more thrilling soundtrack adventures from the early days of Doctor Who, featuring serials lost from the TV archive. The pictures may be lost, but each of these stories survives as a soundtrack recording. Remastered, and with additional linking narration, they can be enjoyed once more. In The Daleks' Master Plan, the Daleks have stolen the Time Destructor, and are threatening to destroy the fabric of time itself. In The Massacre, the TARDIS materialises in Paris, 1572. Also including The Celestial Toymaker and The Savages.

Piloting a shuttle through a deadly solar flare, Jean Grey saves the X-Men, but is possessed by one of the universe's most powerful forces - the Phoenix. As she adapts to her new powers, the mutant team launches an assault against the clandestine organization known as the Hellfire Club. Once inside, however, Jean is tricked by the villain Mastermind into betraying her teammates. She becomes first the Hellfire Club's Black Queen and then Dark Phoenix, as the power to destroy worlds bursts forth uncontrolled.

Thanos' pursuit of the Infinity Gems has always defined him. But when the Marvel heroes defeat him once again, Thanos' beloved Mistress Death grants him one final chance. Stripped of his powers and his old skin, Thanos embarks on a cosmic walkabout to reassert his power over himself and the Multiverse. Haunted by family - or the semblances of it - the Mad Titan may become something else entirely.

Delve into a world both Real and Supernatural when North Carolina history mixes with the paranormal in this pulse-pounding series. With over 50,000 readers, the Max Porter Paranormal Mysteries is a highly addictive series that'll keep you turning pages late into the night. Fun, funny, suspenseful, and scary, this omnibus edition includes the first three books in the best-selling series.

Landing on a distant planet, the Doctor confidently announces to his companions that the TARDIS has brought them to an age of great advancement, peace and prosperity. The Doctor's calculations seem to be confirmed when the travellers are greeted by Jano and the Elders, who take them on a tour of their city - a haven of beauty, harmony and friendship, set in a wilderness inhabited by tribes of savages. But the security of the city is founded on one deadly and appalling secret.

Once Second Prince of the mightiest kingdom in the known world, Othrun now leads the last survivors of his exiled people into an uncertain future far across the Shimmering Sea from their ancestral home, now lost beneath the waves. With his Single God binding his knights to chivalric oaths, intent on wiping out idolatry and pagan worship, they will have to carve out a new kingdom on this mysterious continent that has for centuries been ravaged by warlords competing for supremacy and mages channeling the mystic powers of the elements, and unite the continent under godly rule.

Fenris isn't a hell planet, but it's nobody's bargain. With 2,000-hour days and an 8,000-hour year, it alternates blazing heat with killing cold. A planet like that tends to breed a special kind of person: tough enough to stay alive and smart enough to make the best of it. And when that kind of person discovers he's being cheated out of wealth he's risked his life for, that kind of planet is ripe for revolution.

Alexander Eden is one unhappy teenager. A geeky, social pariah, he's the victim of constant bullying at school. His home life isn't much better with a stepfather who resents him and a half brother who is better than him at everything. But that all changes the day the mysterious and beautiful Gabriella De Luca walks into his life. Everyone wants to know her, to be with her. But she is interested in Alex. Because Alex is different. Soon afterwards he is thrown into a world he never thought possible. A world where he and others like him are the last line of defence.

Seventeen years have passed since the tiny kingdom of the Icemark last defended itself from invasion. Now Thirrin and Oskan have five children, but Scipio Bellorum has a family too - and he is back with his sons and a fleet of sky ships to finish what he started.

When Max and Sandra Porter moved down to North Carolina, they thought they were getting a new beginning - good job, good pay, and a lovely little place in Winston-Salem. But the family that hired him to research land deals in North Carolina is not all that they seem. And when Max discovers that his office is haunted by Marshall Drummond, PI - a ghost from the 1940s - what started as a simple research job sinks him neck-deep in a world of old mysteries and dangerous enemies.

On a family trip to Paris, Greg Rich's parents disappear. They're not just missing from the city - they're missing from the century. So, Greg does what any other 14-year-old would do: He travels through time to rescue them. Greg soon finds out that his family history is tied to the legendary Three Musketeers. But when he meets them, they're his age, and they'll only live long enough to become true heroes if he can save them.

Adam Brandt is used to dealing with all kinds of people - as a consulting psychologist with the Chicago Police Department he has faced his share of criminals. But Kassie Wojcek is like no one else he's encountered - 15 years old and burdened, she says, with a terrible gift: she knows how and when you will die. After claiming to 'feel' the horrific murder of the first victim, Kassie is caught up in the hunt for a sadistic serial killer terrorising Chicago, frightened that people will die without her help.