Origins of the Modern World sets out an analytical framework that is accessible to students while providing a global approach to world history. Remarkable in its presentation of global narratives in such a brief text. Marks's book has a strong emphasis on economic and environmental factors as well as Western coercion and exploitation.

This work uncovers the history of multiplayer games and online gaming through detailed explorations of the evolution of the EverQuest game.

All fairy tales have an origin...

Elisa is the daughter of a humble book binder, living on a secluded island kingdom in the Baltic Sea. As she turns fifteen, she discovers she is something far greater - a fairy godmother, able to know anybody's wish and grant it.

But when a wish-granting goes horribly wrong, everyone and everything Elisa loves is destroyed. Thus begins her long penance - one that will draw her into a conflict that will define the world of fairy tales as we know it...

Something is terribly, terribly wrong with my world!

Lady Atlantia's story world is infested with ghosts of the past. Desperate for answers, the magical knight seeks out the one person who can help: Aquila, a former god of destruction and villain now living a quiet life in seclusion with her creator and friends.

Recruiting the aid of former JRPG mage turned quantum physicist Princess Stellaria, Aquila, her creator Kasumi, former harem comedy main girl and genius Natsuki, and Lady Atlantia return to her homeland of Mareesia - only to find Atlantia's world on the brink of a devastating war that will push all of them to their limits...and beyond.

Now in a new edition, this clearly written and engrossing book presents a global and environmental narrative of the origins of the modern world since 1400. Robert Marks constructs a story in which Asia, Africa, and the New World play major roles and points to the resurgence of Asia and the vastly changed relationship of humans to the environment.

For over a century, fictional characters have been falling out of their stories into our world. Some, like mech pilot Atria Silversword and isekai protagonist Daiki Yamato, want to go home. Some, like JRPG non-player character Princess Stellaria, want a new life. Some, like superhero Captain Infinite and devil king The Destroyer, want to meet their creators. Some, like monster hunter Jenny Calhoun and super-assassin Jack Death, want justice for their suffering.

And one will fight a bloody war to liberate them all.

With a new afterword by the author.

A Reluctant Immortal

On an endless field of ice, a solitary figure stands against the wasteland. He is Delgar Daegar's Son, the Magus Draconum, the destroyer and redeemer of worlds.

This is his story.

The War Begins

The Grand Magus is dead. Under the watchful eye of the Arbiter of Succession, seven archmagi have been granted one of the powers of the Grand Magus, which they will use to battle to the death in a ritual as ancient as it is secret.

But when the Arbiter is murdered, the Successors plunge the world into a devastating war. Running for his life, Tamlin, once an apprentice mage, meets a mysterious traveller who may hold the key to ending the conflict...and who carries a secret that will shake the Order of Archmagi to its foundations.

The Aftermath Begins

The war between the creations is over. The survivors, now known as Arrivals, must pick up the pieces and create a future for themselves.

In the story worlds, isekai protagonist Daiki Yamato makes his long way home to his beloved Athena. But Daiki's author is dead, and it is up to him to figure out how to give his story a happy ending.

In America, Alice Matson and her creation, monster hunter Jenny Calhoun, make a desperate call for help to mech pilot Atria Silversword Kaguyama and JPRG mage Princess Stellaria, setting off an encounter that will change the course of all of their lives.

And in Japan, Lt. Colonel Atria Silversword falls out of her story into the real world to discover that her author is the legend Atria Silversword Kaguyama, the creation who became her own creator.

Origins of the Modern World sets out an analytical framework that is accessible to students while providing a global approach to world history. Remarkable in its presentation of global narratives in such a brief text. Marks's book has a strong emphasis on economic and environmental factors as well as Western coercion and exploitation.

Into the Fire

Having rescued four schoolgirls from a harem comedy, former villain Aquila, her creator Kasumi, and superhero Captain Infinite are touring the story worlds with their new friends. But when they discover the brutal murder of the protagonist of a dating game, Aquila realizes that the worst has happened.

Hunted by a powerful adversary who will stop at nothing to recruit or kill her, Aquila must now lead her companions to safety. As they flee a war that threatens to consume all of the story worlds, Aquila will be forced to face the sins of her past in a final reckoning that will determine the fate of billions...

Challenging the conventional wisdom of Western environmental historians, this book examines the correlations between economic and environmental changes in the southern imperial Chinese provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi (a region historically known as Lingnan, South of the Mountains) from 1400 to 1850. Marks discusses the impact of population growth on land use patterns, the agro-ecology, and deforestation; the commercialization of agriculture and its implications; the impact of climatic change on agriculture; and the ways in which the human population responded to environmental challenges.

At the dawn of the 21st Century, the video game industry experienced a period of wild creativity, fighting for recognition as an art form while making the transformation into a media juggernaut. And as it did, Garwulf's Corner was there, watching and commentating. One of the earliest, if not the first, video game issues columns on the Internet, Garwulf's Corner ran every two weeks from 2000 to 2002 on Diabloii.net. Written by Robert B. Marks, author of Diablo: Demonsbane and The EverQuest Companion, it explored everything up to and including Diablo, the birth of artificial intelligence, hackers, literature and movies, and the video game's struggle for legitimacy. Collected here for the first time in print - with new introductions and updates - are all 52 installments of Garwulf's Corner, along with the three columns written years later for the unpublished Blurred Edge Magazine, the holiday issue that never was, and the author's final word (so far) on Diablo III and Diablo in general. Insightful, controversial, witty, and thought-provoking, Garwulf's Corner is a journey into the world of video games that is still relevant today.

A pioneer in video game commentary, Robert B. Marks was one of the first - if not the first - video games issues columnists in the English language. In March 2015 he returned to take a fresh new look at video games and pop culture. Thought provoking, controversial, and insightful - and with new introductions - this collection includes: All 29 installments of Garwulf's Corner from the pages of The Escapist, covering issues ranging from outrage culture to diversity to the culture war over the Hugo Awards. Beyond the Escapist, a collection of installments including an examination of shared cinematic universes, an analysis of one of the most famous Twitter harassment criminal cases of all time, and the first two parts of The Road to GamerGate, a planned but abandoned 4-part series taking a historical look at the events of August 2014 - most published here for the first time. Garwulf Speaks, Robert B. Marks' magazine experiment, with feature articles covering video game piracy to the history of the public climate change debate to the changing identity of the gamer - and short stories to thrill, move, and even terrify. From the toy industry to the revival of Battlebots, from the Ghostbusters remake to one of video gaming's first mass murder simulators, this is a fascinating odyssey into the amazing world of video games and pop culture.

This deeply informed and clearly written text provides a comprehensive history of China from prehistory to the present. Now updated to include recent political events and scientific research, the book focuses on the interaction of humans and their environment, tracing changes in the physical and cultural world that is home to a fifth of humankind.

This deeply informed and clearly written text provides a comprehensive history of China from prehistory to the present. Now updated to include recent political events and scientific research, the book focuses on the interaction of humans and their environment, tracing changes in the physical and cultural world that is home to a fifth of humankind.

The year was 2016. The culture wars were deepening, with no end in sight. As the marketplace of ideas faded further into memory, one writer tried to bring it back - and succeeded.

In September 2016 Robert B. Marks' Garwulf's Corner returned to The Escapist for another year, presenting a moderate and mature look at many of the hot-button issues facing pop culture. Months after Garwulf's Corner's second year came to an end the Escapist was sold to another media company - and its new editor-in-chief libeled everybody who had worked there since 2014. During the ensuing legal action, the whole of Garwulf's Corner was removed from the pages of the Escapist and all but destroyed...until now.

Insightful, compelling, and still relevant, this volume contains:

- The second year of Garwulf's Corner, covering topics ranging from Star Wars movies to outrage culture to video games.

- Previously unpublished installments looking at Minecraft, video game addiction, and more.

- The full run of The Most Important PC Games of All Time, a comprehensive look at the decades-long history of the video game from the 1940s to today.

From No Man's Sky to Police Quest, from Fox's Gotham to military science fiction, take a fresh and new odyssey back into the world of pop culture.