Simon Curtis

Seventeen-year-old Isaak discovers the truth about his origin and the underground forces that must come together to fight against a secret government organization formed to eradicate those like him in this high-octane science fiction debut. There once was a boy who was made, not created. In a single night, Isaak’s life changed forever. His adoptive parents were killed, a mysterious girl saved him from a team of soldiers, and he learned of his own dark and destructive origin. An origin he doesn’t want to believe, but one he cannot deny. Isaak is a Robot: a government-made synthetic human, produced as a weapon and now hunted, marked for termination. He and the Robots can only find asylum with the Underground—a secret network of Robots and humans working together to ensure a coexistent future. To be protected by the Underground, Isaak will have to make it there first. But with a deadly military force tasked to find him at any cost, his odds are less than favorable. Now Isaak must decide whether to hold on to his humanity and face possible death…or to embrace his true nature in order to survive, at the risk of becoming the weapon he was made to be. In his debut, recording artist Simon Curtis has written a fast-paced, high-stakes novel that explores humanity, the ultimate power of empathy, and the greatest battle of all: love vs. fear.

Boy Robot

Isaak continues to fight against the secret government organization formed to eradicate Robots like him in this action-packed sequel to Boy Robot! "Isaak, the technology used to create the Robots isn't just a weapon. It's a virus. The deadliest virus humanity has ever faced." Burdened with the knowledge that the Robots' survival might mean the end of the human race, Isaak returns to California to find what remains of The Underground. There he begins his search for Evelyn, one of their creators responsible for devising a technology that might save them, called "The Heart." Before Isaak can formulate a plan, however, he and the remaining members of The Underground are deceived by one of their own and suddenly find the Robots' existence revealed to the world. But the government has a revelation of their own in response: the head of the SHRF, a man nicknamed "The Colonel," has been building a Robot army of his own. An army who will obey and fight for their country. Now Isaak must decide whether they will join or fight, and with whispers of a new technology called "The Mind," will they even have a choice? In the sequel to Boy Robot, Simon Curtis takes the Robots' brutal fight for acceptance and survival to the global stage, and as the world prepares for war in the wake of their existence, Isaak must face an even greater battle: destiny vs. free will.

Robot Army

Elliot Green has had a rough year. His dad died, he had to move across the country, and now he’s about to start high school in one of LA’s most prestigious private schools, where his mom has accepted the position of Vice Principal. He’s quickly taken in by the school’s outcasts: the scholarship kids; the queer kids; and the ones who just don’t really fit in with the glossy trust fund babies of SJTBA. They quickly let him in on their little secret…they are witches. Elliot joins them in their world among the crystal stores and occult shops of Silverlake and ends up joining his new friends’ coven. During one of their magical experiments, they accidentally release a bloodthirsty demon that starts murdering their classmates and teachers. Elliot and his coven realize that the fun and games of playing with crystals and candles is over, that magic is powerful, real, and that it might be more dangerous than they’d ever imagined.

The Witches of Silverlake

The re-emergence of the city from the long shadow of the state in the late-twentieth century was facilitated by the state itself. The unprecedented size and scale of today's global cities and mega cities owe their conditions of possibility to a fundamental shift in the character of political order at the level of the international system. This book argues that we must understand the rise of the global city as part of a wider process of the transformation of international political order, and of the character of international society. Global cities are an inscription of the ideals of a market society in space, constructed and defended at the level of international society. They embody the ascendance of a set of liberal principles at a certain moment in history - a moment related to the hegemonic status of leading states in the second half of the twentieth century, and the ability of those states to shape international norms. But the evolution of these urban forms has also reflected the tendency for deregulated markets to generate inequality and polarisation: these features are also inscribed in the spaces of global cities. Global cities focus and amplify the tensions and contradictions within the contemporary international system, and become key strategic sites for struggles over social justice and the character of political life in the twenty-first century. Global Cities and Global Order demonstrates the significance of the re-emergence of cities from the long shadow of the nation-state is far-reaching. Only by examining the mechanisms by which cities have become empowered in the last few decades can we understand their new functions and capabilities in global politics.

Global Cities and Global Order

This is the leading text on shipbuilding and marine construction, already widely used on a global basis by shipowners, shipbuilders and their commercial and legal advisers. It is now ten years since the last edition and much has changed in the world of shipbuilding since then, particularly in the period since 2008 which has seen numerous attempts by owners to renegotiate the prices and/or delivery dates of tonnage and an enormous increase in the level of “vessel rejection” and cancellation disputes. The Law of Shipbuilding Contracts examines the principles of English contract law as these apply to shipbuilding. This edition comments in detail upon the Shipbuilders’ Association of Japan Form but now contrasts this with the NEWBUILDCON from BIMCO in 2007 and the China Maritime Arbitration Commission Forms from 2011 where these are significantly different. It also includes sections dealing with agreements ancillary to the shipbuilding contract and conversion contracts. Overview of book: Since the last edition in 2002, China has become a major global exporter of newbuildings and new BIMCO shipbuilding contract form has been published. Although retaining the original format of commentary on the Japanese (SAJ) standard form shipbuilding contract, the new edition contrasts this with the BIMCO form and the recently published China Maritime Arbitration Commission (CMAC) form in order to provide a broad ranging analysis of this complex subject. The book details the principles of English contract law as these apply to international shipbuilding. It will, as in the previous editions, also include sections dealing with the guarantees and other agreements which support the shipbuilding contract and with ship conversion contracts Essential reading for: - Purchasers and charterers of newbuilding tonnage - Shipbuilders and offshore construction yards - Lawyers and insurers working in the maritime and offshore oil and gas sectors - Banks and other finance providers

The Law of Shipbuilding Contracts

Cities have become increasingly important to global politics, but have largely occupied a peripheral place in the academic study of International Relations (IR). This is a notable oversight for the discipline, although one which may be explained by IR’s traditional state centrism, the subjugation of the city to the demands of the territorial state in the modern period, and a lack of conceptual and analytical frameworks that can allow scholars to include the impact of cities within their work. Presenting case-specific scholarship from leading experts in the field, each contribution guides the reader through the changing nature of cities in the international system and their increasing prominence in global governance outcomes. The book features case studies on the financial power of cities, city action in the security domain, collaboration of cities in coping with environmental problems, transnational urban regions, and mayors as international actors to illustrate if the relationship between the city and the state has changed in profound ways, and how cities are empowered by structural changes in world politics. The multidisciplinary and global focus in The Power of Cities in International Relations sheds much needed light on the significance of the reemergence of cities from the long shadow of the nation-state. Only by examining the mechanisms that have empowered cities in the last few decades can we understand their new functions and capabilities in global politics.

Simon Curtis

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