Olbers's paradox, also known as the dark night sky paradox, is an argument in astrophysics and physical cosmology that says that the darkness of the night sky conflicts with the assumption of an infinite and eternal static universe. In the hypothetical case that the universe is static, homogeneous at a large scale, and populated by an infinite number of stars, any line of sight from Earth must end at the surface of a star and hence the night sky should be completely illuminated and very bright. This contradicts the observed darkness and non-uniformity of the night.
His Dark Materials is a trilogy of fantasy novels by Philip Pullman consisting of Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife (1997), and The Amber Spyglass (2000). It follows the coming of age of two children, Lyra Belacqua and Will Parry, as they wander through a series of parallel universes. The novels have won a number of awards, including the Carnegie Medal in 1995 for Northern Lights and the 2001 Whitbread Book of the Year for The Amber Spyglass. In 2003, the trilogy was ranked third on the BBC's The Big Read poll.
Final Fantasy Mystic Quest, released as Mystic Quest Legend in PAL regions and as Final Fantasy USA: Mystic Quest in Japan, is a role-playing video game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The game was released as a spin-off to Square's Final Fantasy series of video games. Final Fantasy Mystic Quest was first released in North America in 1992 and marketed as a "simplified role-playing game... designed for the entry-level player" in an attempt to broaden the genre's appeal. The game's presentation and battle system is broadly similar to that of the main series, but it differs in its inclusion of action-adventure game elements. Final Fantasy Mystic Quest was the first Final Fantasy game to be released in Europe.
"Age of Apocalypse" is a 1995 comic book crossover storyline mostly published in the X-Men franchise of books by Marvel Comics. The Age of Apocalypse briefly replaced the universe of Earth-616 and had ramifications in the main Marvel Comics universe when the original timeline was restored. It was later retconned as having occurred in the alternate universe of Earth-295.
In the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game, dragons are an iconic type of monstrous creature. As a group, D&D dragons are loosely based upon dragons from a wide range of fictional and mythological sources. Dungeons & Dragons allows players to fight its fictional dragons and "slay their psychic dragons" as well. These dragons, specifically their "dungeon ecology", have implications for the literary theory of fantasy writing. D&D dragons also featured as targets of the moral panic surrounding the game.
Twinworld is a video game, published by Ubi Soft for the Amiga and Atari ST in 1989. Ports for the Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, and Acorn Archimedes were released in 1990.
The Dawning Light is a 1959 science fiction novel published under the name Robert Randall, collaborative pseudonym of American writers Robert Silverberg and Randall Garrett. It depicts the changes, after the events of The Shrouded Planet by the same authors, in the society of the fictional planet Nidor, a world perpetually covered in dense cloud, inhabited by humanoids resembling humans but differing in several respects, notably in being covered from head to foot in short downy fur. The technological level of the society is about that of Renaissance Europe, and has been that way for thousands of years.
Deltora Quest is the collective title for three distinct series of children's fantasy books, written by Australian author Emily Rodda. It follows the adventures of three companions as they journey across the fictitious land of Deltora, endeavouring to recover the seven gems stolen from the magical Belt of Deltora and defeat allies of the evil Shadow Lord. The series was first published in Australia in 2000, and has since been published in more than 30 countries. The series has sold over 18 million copies worldwide, including over 2 million in Australia. It is published by Scholastic in Australia and the United States. In most countries, the series is illustrated by Marc McBride.
Last Human is the title of a 1995 science fiction comedy novel written by Doug Naylor. It is part of the Red Dwarf series of novels, based on the popular television show created by Naylor and his partner Rob Grant. Like the other novels, it does not take place within the television series continuity, but instead adapts situations presented on the series to occur within an alternative universe.
Wood's glass is an optical filter glass invented in 1903 by American physicist Robert Williams Wood (1868–1955), which allows ultraviolet and infrared light to pass through, while blocking most visible light.
Monster House is a third-person shooter survival horror video game developed by Artificial Mind and Movement and published by THQ. The game is based on the 2006 animated film of the same name. The game was met with mixed reception.
Ys are two different anime series, released as original video animation series, both of which are based on the video game series Ys. The first series spans seven episodes and covers the general plotline of the first game of the series, Ys I: Ancient Ys Vanished. The plot centers on Adol Christin as he journeys to the island of Esteria in search of adventure. Upon arrival, he learns that a dark priest known as Dark Fact has been tearing the island apart in search of six mystical tomes of power, the Books of Ys.
Silverfall is an action role-playing video game, developed by software company Monte Cristo for Windows. A port has been made for PlayStation Portable. An expansion for the Windows version of the game, entitled Silverfall: Earth Awakening, was released in 2008. Silverfall: Gold Edition was also released in 2008, containing the main game as well as the expansion.
Army of Darkness comics are based on the film of the same name published originally by Dark Horse Comics, and later by Dynamite Entertainment who initially published them through Devil's Due Publishing.
Dark Earth is a post-apocalyptic adventure game with action elements, developed by Kalisto Entertainment and published by MicroProse for Microsoft Windows in 1997. Reviewers were generally positive, with critics commenting on the well thought-out story and milieu and the impressive visuals, though the combat was criticized. It sold 500,000 copies by 1999.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX is the fourth addition to the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime meta-series, as well as the 1st main spin-off series. The plot centers around Jaden Yuki and his friends, and tells of their adventures at the Duel Academy, a school that teaches students how to play the card game Duel Monsters. Season three, the Dimension World Saga, covers their third year at the Academy and the series' darker turn. This season was broadcast by 4Kids Entertainment as Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.
ElvenQuest is a comic fantasy broadcast on BBC Radio 4 by Anil Gupta and Richard Pinto, and starring Stephen Mangan, Alistair McGowan, Darren Boyd, Kevin Eldon, Sophie Winkleman and Dave Lamb. The series takes place in the world of Lower Earth, a parody of Middle-earth from The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. In Lower Earth, a band of warriors go forth to search for a mythical sword to save Lower Earth from the evil Lord Darkness. In order to do so, they must find "The Chosen One" who will save Lower Earth. The Chosen One is Amis, a dog in the real world which belongs to a fantasy novelist called Sam Porter. The first series was broadcast from 29 March to 3 June 2009 and the second from 18 November 2010. The third series began broadcasting from 17 October 2011. The fourth series began broadcasting 12 February 2013.
Total Eclipse is a first person adventure game released for the Amiga, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, MS-DOS and ZX Spectrum computers in 1988. It can also be considered an early example of a first-person shooter.
The Legend of Zelda is a high-fantasy video game series created by Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo, although some portable installments have been outsourced to Capcom, Vanpool and Grezzo. The series' gameplay incorporates elements of action, adventure and puzzle-solving games.
