18 May: 18

On the 18th day of the month, 10 things you might not know about the number 18.

1. 18 is a lucky number in Chinese culture, because the word for 18 in Chinese sounds similar to the Chinese words for 'to get rich for sure'. However, the Chinese also believe that hell has 18 levels.
2. In many countries, 18 is the age of majority, the age at which a young person gets to vote and officially becomes an adult. According to the Talmud, 18 is an appropriate age to get married.
3. 18 is an important number in Judaism because the Hebrew word for "life" (chai), has a numerical value of 18. This is why, in the Jewish community, gifts and charitable donations are often given in multiples of 18 to symbolise blessings and a long life. It was for this reason that Joseph Heller was originally going to call his novel Catch 22 Catch 18, but the title was changed because there was already a war novel called Mila 18.
4. In chemistry, group 18 of the periodic table is called the noble gases; the element with the atomic number 18 is argon.
5. The Druid alphabet has 18 letters, each letter deriving its name from the tree of which it is the initial. There are 5 vowels and 13 consonants. The alphabet was used for divining, and each moth of the Druid year was named for one of the letters.
6. There are 18 chapters in the Bhagavad Gita, and the Mahabharata has 18 books.
7. James Joyce's epic novel Ulysses has 18 chapters.
8. Neo Nazis use 18 to represent Adolph Hitler since his initials are the first and eighth letters of the alphabet.
9. In music, 18 is an album by Moby and also a song written by Ed Sheeran for One Direction. The song appears on their album, Four.
10. In numerology, 18 is usually reduced to the sum of its digits - 9. Hence people with a birth number of 18 are said to be influenced by the numbers 1, 8 and 9. 9 is a spiritual number, 1 is a leadership number and 8 is a power number. It's therefore a powerful number and those under its influence can go on to achieve great things and use their wealth or connections for philanthropic purposes.

Closing the Circle

A stable wormhole has been established between Earth and Infinitus. Power Blaster and his friends can finally go home.

Desi Troyes is still at large on Earth - Power Blaster has vowed to bring him to justice. His wedding to Shanna is under threat as the Desperadoes launch an attempt to rescue their leader. 

Someone from Power Blaster's past plays an unexpected and significant role in capturing Troyes.

The return home brings its own challenges. Not everyone can return to the life they left behind, and for some, there is unfinished business to be dealt with before they can start anew.

Ben Cole in particular cannot resume his old life as a surgeon because technology no longer works around him. He plans a new life in Classica, away from technology. Shanna hears there could be a way to reverse his condition and sets out to find it, putting herself in great danger. She doesn't know she is about to uncover the secret of Power Blaster's mysterious past.

Available from:

Amazon (Paperback)

Amazon Kindle

Completes The Raiders Trilogy. 

Other books in the series:

Book One

Book Two