Psychological Science

Why do superheroes choose to be superheroes? Where does Spider-Man's altruism come from, and what does it mean? Why is there so much prejudice against the X-Men, and how could they have responded to it, other than the way they did? Why are super-villains so aggressive? The Psychology of Superheroes answers these questions in a wide range of essays on topics from Aquaman to Arkham Asylum - exploring the inner workings our heroes usually only share with their therapists.

La réalité est plus fragile qu'on ne croit. Molly participe à des fouilles dans une ancienne station-service. Elle déterre un jour des objets dont la nature perturbe sa conception d'un univers logique, comme cette Bible où Dieu est au féminin. Chez elle, Molly doit affronter une situation tout aussi perturbante : son mari a dû se rendre à l'étranger pour donner un concert, la laissant seule avec leurs deux enfants en bas âge. Mais voilà qu'un soir elle entend des bruits de pas dans le salon.

Quentin Coldwater es un chico brillante pero desdichado que vive obsesionado con las novelas de fantasía que leyó en su infancia y que transcurrían en un país mágico llamado Fillory. Cuál no será su sorpresa cuando inesperadamente es admitido en una muy secreta y exclusiva universidad de magia en Nueva York, donde recibirá una rigurosa educación sobre los arcanos de la moderna hechicería y descubrirá la amistad, el amor, el sexo, la bebida y el aburrimiento.

Gabriel is running out of time. Desperately clinging to his humanity, the 21-year-old half-demon is determined to deny the dark destiny his father insists he fulfill. And if he can’t exorcise the manipulative, vile thing driving him to atrocities by his next birthday, the mortal world is doomed. Earth is the last place Aura wants to be. She escaped this nightmare once, and she definitely doesn’t want to go back just to help some monster control his urges.

The man couldn't help himself. His captor was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her powerful eyes held his attention and made him forget that she had him confined in a basement, his hands and feet bound with duct tape. She fed him when he was hungry and kept him alive for the telling of her horrific tale. After getting past the terror and discomfort, he reasoned that there was nothing to worry about for the moment.

Heather agrees to go camping with Dougie and his friends because she's desperate to get closer to him, and a secluded beach sounds like the perfect place. But the trip takes a sinister turn that brings Heather's plans to a violent end. One by one, the group begins to vanish. A year later, Heather knows she's just lucky to be alive. And now, people are asking for answers, or else she will be the one to take the blame. But the truth about what happened on that trip is far more terrifying than anyone knows....

Everyone but Ann thought that Carl Urbanowich was a harmless man who had lost his mind. Ann believes his fantasies of power and tries to stop him from ending the earth. She risks her life to prevent the catastrophe. Can she prevent him from smashing our planet into four individual solar systems?

Dr. Peter Andresen is a broken man. Once a highly respected psychiatrist, he lives alone, suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder that he steadfastly denies. As the story begins, Peter walks alone on a deserted beach. He doesn't know where he is or what he's doing until he encounters a beautiful young woman named Holly Be. She knows his story and it is her assigned mission to restore meaning to his life. But she fails to maintain the emotional distance required to prevent them from falling in love.

David Holbrook is a scrawny kid, the victim of bullies, and the neglected son of insane parents. David Holbrook is the Kallis Episkopos, a vicious murderer turned imprisoned leader of a death cult dedicated to Eris, the Hellenic goddess of discord. David Holbrook never killed anyone, and lives a lonely and luckless existence with his aging mother in a tumbledown New Jersey town. Caught between finger and trigger, David is given three chances to decide his fate as he is compelled to live and relive all his potential existences, guided only by the dark wisdom found in a bottle of cough syrup.

Commercial deep-sea diver Solvig has a secret. She wants to be one of the first human beings to colonize Mars, and she is one of a hundred people shortlisted by the Mars Project to do just that. But to fulfill her ambition, she will have to leave behind everything she has ever known - for the rest of her life. As the prospect of heading to space becomes more real, 37-year-old Solvig is forced to define who she really is. Will she come clean to James, her partner, about her plans? Or will she turn her back on the project and commit to her life on Earth?

The Epiphany has brought the three adventurers to the doorstep of La Tulipan, the mystic time traveler. He in turn has provided an explanation of some sort to help the three understand what has happened, what is happening, and what is going to happen as they step onto the ledge of the time portal. Gustavo, the undercover agent has followed the three courageous investigators to Trenton, NJ, on the south side of town where his surveillance vehicle has recorded everything that has transpired between Sarah, Deb, Matt, and La Tulipan.

"Quando io e voi, addormentati o assopiti, cadiamo attraverso lo spazio e torniamo in noi con una sensazione di batticuore, proprio nell'attimo immediatamente prima di fracassarci le ossa al suolo, non facciamo che ricordarci di quel che avvenne ai nostri antenati arboricoli e che si è impresso, per le successive modificazioni cerebrali, nell'eredità della specie."

Alastair Crompton skilled nosologist at Psychosmell, Inc. sniffs out something he's been missing his whole life - his other selves. His disturbed psyche was divided into three parts and the other parts were implanted in other bodies on other planets. His obsession to re-unite himself leads to disturbing discovers about the underpinnings of the society he lives in, personal conflicts, a vastly destructive war and a shocking ultimate revelation.

Ever since Johnny Carson first popularized the late-night talk show in 1962 with The Tonight Show, the 11:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. comedy time slot on network television has remained an indelible part of our national culture. More than six popular late-night shows air every night of the week, and with recent major shake-ups in the industry, late-night television has never been more relevant to our public consciousness than it is today.

Denise Berg, a professor of psychology, and her molecular biologist husband, Gabe, expected an intelligent child. When Denise gave birth to Zack, they were thrilled. They were not surprised to find that Zack had physical and mental gifts but were astounded by their magnitude. By every parameter Zack was extraordinarily gifted, and they took pride in their genes and their good fortune.

Olivia, a visionary artist who fell by the wayside, discovers a way to access her creativity through the inner labyrinths. After visiting Labyrinthine, she awakes to find a mysterious figure holding a gun to her head. The episode triggers a series of events that reveal her boyfriend is attempting to swindle her, her agent has defied death, and there is an underlying structure to people's life timings. Rapidly, her world spirals into chaos.

Michael B. Koep’s final installment in the Newirth Mythology trilogy brings a psychologist face to face with his greatest fear: madness. On the other side of the world, a professor of mythology struggles to interpret a sudden shift in the historical timeline, the mysterious discovery of the ruins of an ancient city, and the anomalous nature of Loche’s writing.

The year is 2024, and the residents of the Tower, a virus-proof apartment building, live in a state of permanent lockdown. The building is controlled by James, who keeps the residents safe but incarcerated. Behind bricked-up front doors, their every need is serviced; they are pampered but remain prisoners. This suits Eugene just fine. Ravaged by the traumas of his past, the agoraphobic ex-detective has no intention of ever setting foot outside again.

Spaceman Spiritus is a prisoner, found guilty of the enduring crime of solitude, sentenced to labor far underground somewhere in a distant galaxy. Peel is a rancher, a man tracing a lifetime of memories for those he loved and for the natural world around him. He’s about to plummet back to Earth with an angel by his side. And as for Martha and Pup, well...they’re the dogs charged with saving us all. Told in a braid of voices, Spaceman Spiritus weaves the trajectory of these characters into a thrilling, provocative, and ultimately, heart-wrenching allegory.

The Wayfarer stands on the rim of insanity. Forgetting everything. Everyone. He doesn’t know when the forgetting began, but the Shadow does. A doppelganger wreathed in darkness; a figure only he can see; it claims to know both why he is losing his mind, and the way to restore it. Wary, desperate, with what seems no other way open to him, the Wayfarer submits himself to the Shadow, its warning compelling him forward: