Michael Hesse

When you're a witch, you're always guilty Ever since Thorn escaped the witch camps in Colorado, trouble's been running him down like road kill. Even his parole to the counter-sorcery unit, Shadow Company, hasn't earned him a reprieve. Arrested after a barroom brawl, Thorn and his partner Ramirez, find themselves the newest residents of Fulton County Jail's isolation ward. Just down the hall is Juan Ortiz, a courier supplying the new blood-magic drug, Graveyard Dust. All they have to do is get to Ortiz, discover his connections and get out. It's the easiest assignment they've had in months. But when Ortiz is murdered by magic, Thorn and Ramirez are the only suspects. Hounded by the Office of State Security and hunted by the terrifying Saint of Death, the Santa Muerte, Thorn is plunged into a conspiracy between sinister drug lords and members of the same government he fights to protect.

Black magic is a disease. Shadow Company is the cure. Thorn was lucky or so he was told. Most witches caught outside the internment camps end up doing hard time. Some just disappear. When the Office of State Security offered Thorn a choice between a trial for black magic or parole to America's counter-sorcery force, he jumped at the chance. Ten years in a Shadow Company uniform sounded like a better gig than life behind bars. But things aren't always as simple as they appear. For seventy years, America has fought a magical cold war against the Thule sorcerers of the European Reich. But things are heating up again... Everything changes when Thorn's unit is sent to Mosul to eliminate Alarwi; a terrorist who throws spells like roadside bombs. In the bones of the ancient city, Thorn uncovers a Thule plot to release the Quarternary of the Attitude. If these demon princes break free, they'll bring more than beer and pretzels to the party. They'll bring Hell itself to earth. While in pursuit of the architects behind the plot, clues surface indicating that Thorn's tangled past is somehow involved. In order to clear his name and stop the Thule, Thorn will be forced to betray his unit and confront his past. But how can anyone hope to stop a prince of Hell?

This open access book offers a fully illustrated compendium of glossary terms and basic principles in the field of palynology, making it an indispensable tool for all palynologists. It is a revised and extended edition of “Pollen Terminology. An illustrated handbook,” published in 2009. This second edition, titled “Illustrated Pollen Terminology” shares additional insights into new and stunning aspects of palynology. In this context, the general chapters have been critically revised, expanded and restructured. The chapter “Misinterpretations in Palynology” has been extended with new research data and additional ambiguous terms, e.g., polyads vs. massulae; the chapter “Methods in Palynology” has been extensively enhanced with illustrated protocols showing the majority of the methods and techniques used when studying recent and fossil pollen with LM, SEM and TEM. Moreover, additional information about the description and publication of pollen data is provided in the chapter “How to Describe and Illustrate Pollen Grains.” Various other parts of the general chapters have now been updated and/or extended with more comprehensive textual passages and new illustrations. The chapter “Illustrated Pollen Terms” now features new and more appropriate examples of each term, including additional LM micrographs. Where necessary, the entries for selected pollen terms have been refined by rewording or adding definitions, illustrations, and new micrographs. Lastly, new terms are included, such as “suprasculpture” and the prefix “nano-“ for ornamentation features. The chapter “Illustrated Pollen Terms” is the main part of this book and comprises more than 300 widely used terms illustrated with over 1,000 high-quality images. It provides a detailed survey of the manifold ornamentation and structures of pollen, and offers essential insights into their stunning beauty.

Palynology is important in basic as well as in manifold applied sciences, as e.g. biology, medicine, forensics, earth history, climatology and food production. This volume is the first fully illustrated handbook of palynological principles and glossary terms, exclusively using LM and EM micrographs of superior quality. A comprehensive General Chapter on pollen morphology, anatomy, pollen development etc. based on the present knowledge in palynology introduces the reader in the world of pollen. The glossary part comprises more than 300 widely used terms illustrated with over 1.000 high quality light and/or electron microscopic pictures to show the character range of a term. Terms are grouped by feature, e.g. ornamentation, where each term is illustrated on a separate page, definition and original citation included and where necessary, provided with a comprehensive explanatory comment. The term's use in LM, SEM or TEM and its assignment to anatomical, morphological and/or functional pollen features is indicated by icons and colour coding, respectively. This handbook is not only a valuable source for students and researchers but also for all persons interested in pollen and its aesthetic beauty.

Die Freiheit des Individuums gilt als zentraler Begriff im Werk Alfred Anderschs. Die Arbeit rehabilitiert diesen Begriff, der in der Forschung haufig als Gegenbild zur sozialen Wirklichkeit verstanden wurde, als Basis eines in sich stimmigen Kunst- und Weltverstandnisses. Unter Zuhilfenahme rezeptions- und kommunikationstheoretischer Modelle wird aufgezeigt, wie der Schriftsteller Andersch in seinen Romanen Sansibar oder der letzte Grund, Die Rote, Efraim und Winterspelt mit den Individuen umgeht, deren Freiheit er postuliert. Das Ergebnis ist ein Realitatsverstandnis, in dem aktive Kunstrezeption, sprachliches Handeln und Sozialverhalten in wechselseitiger Verantwortung als selbstahnliche Facetten einer komplexen fraktalen Welt individueller Freiheit deutlich werden.