September 2023

The fossil of Bohemolichas incola (a) and views of its 3D reproduction with the contents of its digestive tract highlighted in shades of red and blue (c)

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An article published in the journal “Nature” reports a study on a trilobite fossil of the species Bohemolichas incola dating back to around 465 million years ago, in the Middle Ordovician period, which reveals the contents of its guts in the last meal that occurred before its death. A team of researchers subjected the fossil in an extraordinary state of preservation to a sophisticated synchrotron microtomography that made it possible to create a 3D reproduction that also shows the contents of its intestinal tract. That revealed that this trilobite ate some marine invertebrates such as ostracods, bivalves, and echinoderms.

The Star King by Jack Vance

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The novel “The Star King” by Jack Vance was published for the first time between December 1963 and February 1964 serialized in the magazine “Galaxy” and as a book in 1964. It’s the first book in the Demon Princes series.

Kirth Gersen meets the explorer Lugo Teehalt, who has discovered a planet of extraordinary beauty. However, he has learned that his exploit happened in the service of Attel Malagate, one of the infamous Demon Princes, and doesn’t want to reveal its location to him knowing that the planet would get exploited.

Some of Attel Malagate’s henchmen kill Lugo Teehalt and steal what they think is his spaceship to obtain the information necessary to find the planet discovered by the explorer. Actually, they stole a spaceship of the same model and Kirth Gersen takes advantage of that mistake to begin the search for Attel Malagate to carry out a personal revenge.

Skyflash by Lee Gimenez

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The novel “Skyflash” by Lee Gimenez was published for the first time in 2015. It’s part of the J.T. Ryan series.

The brutal murder of the Georgia governor’s wife is a high-profile case and FBI Assistant Director Erin Welch needs any help to solve it quickly, especially because the FBI director is trying to get rid of her. For this reason, she hires J.T. Ryan, who can operate outside the normal rules that law enforcement must respect.

The discovery of a new drug called Skyflash opens up disturbing scenarios because it ensures its users a period of increased physical strength and mental clarity but subsequently tends to cause fits of violence. When even J.T. Ryan’s girlfriend gets almost killed by a man in the throes of one of these fits, the private investigator is more motivated than ever to find out who’s behind Skyflash.

Fulcrum by D. Rebbitt

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The novel “Fulcrum” by D. Rebbitt was published for the first time in 2016. It’s the first book in The Globur Incursion series.

John Forest is a hero of the war against the Globur aliens but twenty years after his actions that changed the fate of an important battle, the time has come for him to return to civilian life. He settles on Earth and seems to adapt quickly to his new life but his peace of mind is disturbed when he discovers that someone is keeping him under surveillance.

What are officially Globur incursions continue but some clues suggest that the aliens are trying new strategies. The enemy seems to have found a way to prevent human spaceships from detecting the alien spaceships and that could pose a major risk to the human frontier worlds.

Mind of Stone by Iain McLaughlin

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The novel “Mind of Stone” by Iain McLaughlin was published for the first time in 2016.

Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart has been remanded at Wormwood Scrubs Prison but the charges against him are a secret known only to very few people. While he waits to be officially charged, his main concern is to understand who among the prisoners could pose a danger to him.

None of Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart’s subordinates nor Anne Travers appear to have any idea what the charges are against him and his superiors provide no information. Their job must continue and concerns strange statues present in both a military installation and in an Egyptian museum. What’s the connection with a secret cargo carried by a military convoy commanded by Colonel Pemberton in 1968?