Urban City

Lily Harper narrowly survived her first mission as a Soul Retriever in the first level of the Underground City. After that harrowing trip, she wants nothing more than some downtime, but as with most things involving the afterlife, nothing ever quite works out the way Lily wants it to. Her newest mission will see her traveling to the sewer aqueduct of the Underground City and later, the prison. But, luckily for Lily, she’s got the hunky yet antisocial bladesmith Tallis Black by her side. And quite possibly unluckily for her, she’s also got her guardian angel, Bill, who’s up to his old, foul-mouthed antics.

With a new afterword covering the two decades since its first publication, two of Washington, D.C.'s most respected journalists expose one of America's most tragic ironies: How the nation's capital, often a gleaming symbol of peace and hope, is the setting for vicious contradictions and devastating conflicts over race, class, and power. Jaffe and Sherwood have chillingly chronicled the descent of the District of Columbia.

Vampire Anna Strong never expected to find the witch Sophie Deveraux on her doorstep, asking for a favor. But Sophie needs help, even if it's from the vampire who killed her sister. Anna, driven both by guilt and obligation, agrees to help Sophie and her psychic alter-ego, Jonathan. So begins an adventure that takes them to Leadville, Colorado. All too soon, Anna wonders whether Sophie is truly a victim of circumstance...or the author of a clever plot to rid herself of her unwanted psychic twin.

December 2008. A heavy snowstorm is blowing through Manhattan and the economy is on the brink of collapse, but none of that matters to a handful of guests at a posh holiday party. Five years after their college graduation, the fiercely devoted friends at the heart of this richly absorbing novel remain as inseparable as ever.

Join best-selling science writer James Trefil on a fascinating field trip into the modern city that will open your eyes to the hidden wonders of the man-made world around you. Trefil reveals some surprising truths about the forces that shape our world, as well as some unusual possibilities for the cities of tomorrow.

Just months after Rebekah Roberts was born, her mother, an Hasidic Jew from Brooklyn, abandoned her Christian boyfriend and newborn baby to return to her religion. Neither Rebekah nor her father have heard from her since. Now a recent college graduate, Rebekah has moved to New York City to follow her dream of becoming a big-city reporter. But she's also drawn to the idea of being closer to her mother, who might still be living in the Hasidic community in Brooklyn. Then Rebekah is called to cover the story of a murdered Hasidic woman.

Magic City's future hangs on the roll of the dice, or the turn of a card. Will fortune favor Ruby Achera, or turn against her? All the threads of criminal activity in Magic City are weaving together to form a dangerous web. The anti-human movement and the Drow who leads it have found common cause with the troublemaker in the Council. The PDA is the wildcard. Will they help her or turn against her?

Public City/Public Sex examines how the notion that male sexual desire required suitable outlets shaped urban policing and development. Ross traces the struggle to control sex in public and argues that it was the very effort to police the city that created new opportunities for women who sold sex and men who sought sex with other men. Placing public sex at the center of urban history, Ross shows how those who used public spaces played a central role in defining the way the city was understood.

A man of the night and a man of the city, some would even say a renaissance man. Ron Etienne maneuvers through the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the same way as many other single men in their early 30s. Stumbling across a fair chance at love, Ron learns the hard way that it’s easier for him to catch a good woman than it is for him to keep her.

Lt. Kathryn Kitaen, a detective of Magic Affairs for the Metamor City Police Department, is not having her best day. An unidentified man in her precinct has been burned to death by unknown magic. A powerful wizard has erased the evidence from the crime scene. The commander of a powerful paramilitary organization wants to pick a fight over jurisdiction. And to top it all off, the Empire's top spymaster wants her to find his missing daughter: a spoiled and decadent heiress who's infamous for sparking scandal and controversy wherever she goes.

The Paranormal Defense Agency is after her. There's a mysterious figure whipping up anti-human sentiment in town. And, behind it all, an old nemesis plots and plans. Can Ruby Achera handle this triple-headed threat? The self-declared defender of Magic City has a lot on her plate. First it was just Gabriel "The Nightmare" Sloane, but now problems are coming from every direction. The PDA has put a false bounty out on the city's protectors, and now bounty hunters are in the mix. Do they know they're aiming at the wrong guy?

Jon Tunstall is an apprentice to the wizard Artax, the owner of the wandering magic shop Spells 4 U. In the midst of the bustling Winter Solstice shopping season, Jon's routine is interrupted by the arrival of Esmeralda, a beautiful and powerful wizard. Esme and Artax have a tumultuous history together, but Esme hopes she can convince the elder wizard to help her with an important personal problem. Caught between two temperamental and headstrong wizards, it might be Jon who holds the solution to Esme's difficulties - and to the rift that has grown between them.

The City Imperishable's secret master and heir to the long-vacant throne has vanished from a locked room, as politics have turned deadly in a bid to revive the city's long-vanished empire. The city's dwarfs, stunted from spending their childhoods in confining boxes, are restive. Bijaz the Dwarf, leader of the Sewn faction among the dwarfs, fights their persecution. Jason the Factor, friend and apprentice to the missing master, works to maintain stability in the absence of a guiding hand. Imago of Lockwood struggles to revive the office of Lord Mayor in a bid to turn the City Imperishable away from the path of destruction.

Nearly a year after the dramatic events at the Roebling Suspension Bridge, the otherworldly citizens of Cincinnati are settling into the new state of affairs. O'Flanagan's has become the hub of fae activity in the area, under the watchful eye of troll Evangeline Kane. But other sentinels of the city also frequent the bar, including gargoyle Kalila Storm.

Ruby Achera's got problems galore. Bounty hunters and assassins to the left of her. A vengeful Drow to her right. A deadly creature intent on taking over Magic City has just arrived in town looking for payback. And he's out for blood. Can Ruby fight off the evil artifact embedded in her arm long enough to fight back?

Oklahoma City. Indianapolis. Charleston. Des Moines. What do these cities have in common? They are cities of modest size but outsized accomplishment, powered by a can-do spirit, valuing compromise over confrontation and progress over political victory. These are the cities leading America...and they're not waiting for Washington's help. As mayor of one of America's most improved cities, Cornett used a bold, creative, and personal approach to orchestrate his city's renaissance. Once regarded as a forgettable city in "flyover country", Oklahoma City has become one of our nation's most dynamic places - and it is not alone.

My name's Morgan Rook, supernatural detective, undercover agent, odd jobs man. I take out the nightmares, demons, and werewolves. Guys like us call them Nightkind. I had one final job. There's always one. This time a call to eliminate a cruel, rogue vampire, named Mr. Tudor. Simple, right? Sure. Until the bodies started piling up in a new wave of vicious occult killings leading scarily close to my own front door, sparking a series of deadly events that would make my years of fighting the Nightkind look like a cakewalk.

"Welcome to hell, ladies and gents, where the demons are monsters and so are the angels." In a city filled with angels and demons, the real monsters are harder to find. When Arija jumps through a portal, she finds herself in the most beautiful city she's ever seen. But looks can be deceiving. Has she found a paradise, or is it hell? Adal can't believe he let Arija go into the portal alone. When he goes in looking for her, he finds himself in a hellscape. With a demon around every corner, Adal must find his girlfriend before it's too late. But someone watches from the shadows.

Author Thomas Healy resurrects a forgotten saga of race, capitalism, and the struggle for equality in this fascinating, forgotten story of the 1970s attempt to build a city dedicated to racial equality in the heart of “Klan Country”.

Sociologist Stephen Klineberg presents fascinating and groundbreaking research that shows how the city of Houston has emerged as a microcosm for America’s future - based on an unprecedented 38-year study of its changing economic, demographic, and cultural landscapes.