Best of
Epic

2006

Pan and the Prisoners of Bolvangar


Kay Woodward - 2006
    

The Mahabharata: A Modern Rendering, Vol. 1


Ramesh Menon - 2006
    First composed by the Maharishi Vyasa in verse, it has come down the centuries in the timeless oral tradition of guru and sishya, profoundly influencing the history, culture, and art of not only the Indian subcontinent but most of south-east Asia. At 100,000 couplets, it is seven times as long as the Iliad and the Odyssey combined: far and away the greatest recorded epic known to man.The Mahabharata is the very Book of Life: in its variety, majesty and, also, in its violence and tragedy. It has been said that nothing exists that cannot be found within the pages of this awesome legend. The epic describes a great war of some 5000 years ago, and the events that led to it. The war on Kurukshetra sees ten million warriors slain, brings the dwapara yuga to an end, and ushers in a new and sinister age: this present kali yuga, modern times.At the heart of the Mahabharata nestles the Bhagavad Gita, the Song of God. Senayor ubhayor madhye, between two teeming armies, Krishna expounds the eternal dharma to his warrior of light, Arjuna. At one level, all the restless action of the Mahabharata is a quest for the Gita and its sacred stillness. After the carnage, it is the Gita that survives, immortal lotus floating upon the dark waters of desolation: the final secret!With its magnificent cast of characters, human, demonic, and divine, and its riveting narrative, the Mahabharata continues to enchant readers and scholars the world over. This new rendering brings the epic to the contemporary reader in sparkling modern prose. It brings alive all the excitement, magic, and grandeur of the original - for our times.

The Sword of Truth, Boxed Set III: The Pillars of Creation, Naked Empire, Chainfire


Terry Goodkind - 2006
    Tormented her entire life by inhuman voices, a young woman named Lauren seeks to end her intolerable agony. She at last discovers a way to silence the voices. For everyone else, the torment is about to begin.With winter descending and the paralyzing dread of an army of annihilation occupying their homeland, Richard Rahl and his wife Kahlan must venture deep into a strange and desolate land. Their quest turns to terror when they find themselves the helpless prey of a tireless hunter.Meanwhile, Lauren finds herself drawn into the center of a struggle for conquest and revenge. Worse yet, she finds her will seized by forces more abhorrent than anything she ever envisioned. Only then does she come to realize that the voices were real.Staggered by loss and increasingly isolated, Richard and Kahlan must stop the relentless, unearthly threat which has come out of the darkest night of the human soul. To do so, Richard will be called upon to face the demons stalking among the Pillars of Creation.Discover breathtaking adventure and true nobility of spirit. Find out why millions of readers the world over have elevated Terry Goodkind to the ranks of legend.Book 8: Naked EmpireBeginning with Wizard's First Rule and continuing with six subsequent fantasy masterpieces, Terry Goodkind has thrilled and awed millions of readers worldwide. Now Goodkind returns with a broad-canvas adventure of epic intrigue, violent conflict, and terrifying peril for the beautiful Kahlan Amnell and her husband, the heroic Richard Rahl, the Sword of Truth.Richard Rahl has been poisoned. Saving an empire from annihilation is the price of the antidote. With the shadow of death looming near, the empire crumbling before the invading hordes, and time running out, Richard is offered not only his own life but the salvation of a people, in exchange for delivering his wife, Kahlan, into bondage to the enemy.Book 9: ChainfireWith Wizard's First Rule and seven subsequent masterpieces, Terry Goodkind has thrilled readers worldwide with the unique sweep of his storytelling. Now Goodkind returns with a new novel of Richard and Kahlan, the beginning of a sequence of three novels that will bring their epic story to its culmination.After being gravely injured in battle, Richard awakes to discover Kahlan missing. To his disbelief, no one remembers the woman he is frantically trying to find. Worse, no one believes that she really exists, or that he was ever married. Alone as never before, he must find the woman he loves more than life itself....if she is even still alive. If she was ever even real.

Kushiel's Scion


Jacqueline Carey - 2006
    It is a court steeped in deeply laid conspiracies ... and there are many who would see the young prince dead. Some despise him out of hatred for his birth mother Melisande, who nearly destroyed the realm in her quest for power. Others because they fear he has inherited his mother's irresistible allure - and her dangerous gifts. And as he comes of age, plagued by dark yearnings, Imriel shares their fears.At the royal court, where gossip is the chosen poison and assailants wield slander instead of swords, the young prince fights character assassins while struggling with his own innermost conflicts. But when Imriel departs to study at the famed University of Tiberium, the perils he faces turn infinitely more deadly. Searching for wisdom, he finds instead a web of manipulation, where innocent words hide sinister meanings, and your lover of last night may become your hired killer before dawn. Now a simple act of friendship will leave Imriel trapped in a besieged city where the infamous Melisande is worshiped as a goddess; where a dead man leads an army; and where the prince must face his greatest test: to find his true self.

R.A. Salvatore's War of the Spider Queen, Volume I: Dissolution, Insurrection, Condemnation


Richard Lee Byers - 2006
    Salvatore and a select group of the Forgotten Realms best-selling authors--begins here. Ten years after its initial publication, we are packaging this ground-breaking series in two attractive collector's editions.Dissolution: While their whole world is changing around them, four dark elves struggle against different enemies. Yet their paths will lead them all to the most terrifying discovery in the long history of the drow and set them on a quest to save not only Menzoberranzan but the entire dark elf race from dissolution.Insurrection: A hand-picked team of the most capable drow adventurers begin a perilous journey through the treacherous Underdark, all the while surrounded by the chaos of war. Their path will take them through the very heart of darkness, and the Underdark will be shaken to its core. If the powerful dark elves falter, the world below is open for insurrection.Condemnation: From the burning sand of Anauroch to the labyrinthine Underdark, an epic quest for the very essence of the Spider Queen takes one startling turn after another. Powerful forces are at work to discover where Lolth has gone. She may return as something greater than she was, or she may have gone from her drow children forever, leaving them to their own devices in a chilling condemnation.

War of the Spider Queen Gift Set, Part II


Lisa Smedman - 2006
    Salvatoreâ��s War of the Spider Queen six-book series: Extinction, Annihilation, and Resurrection. All three titles hit the New York Times best-seller list upon hardcover release. Each author is a veteran writer who is well-known to Forgotten Realms fans, and multiple-time best-selling author R.A. Salvatore consulted on the entire series of titles.

Simone Weil's the -Iliad- Or the Poem of Force: A Critical Edition


Masami P. Kojima - 2006
    Her profound meditation on the nature of violence provides a remarkably vivid and accessible testament of the Greek epic's continuing relevance to our lives. This celebrated work appears here for the first time in a bilingual version, based on the text of the authoritative edition of the author's complete writings. An introduction discusses the significance of the essay both in the evolution of Weil's thought and as a distinctively iconoclastic contribution to Homeric studies. The commentary draws on recent interpretations of the Iliad and examines the parallels between Weil's vision of Homer's warriors and the experiences of modern soldiers.

Beneath a Sunless Sky


Jessica Alter - 2006
    In the first book of the Dome Trilogy, Remy's life spirals from her control; she is condemned to live her life in the most reviled pit in the Dome world, known to be populated by brutish beasts too inhuman to even live on the edge of society. When she arrives, however, she discovers that humanity does not belong only to the citizen, life on Level One is not what she had believed it to be, and a threat more grave than the UnderDome, itself, lurks just beyond its shadows.

Broken Mind, Fractured Soul


Sensibly Tainted - 2006
    What happens when he finds himself before Snape for help? Includes mentor Severus, MPD, child abuse, protective Remus.Words: 398,027

Atlas Major of 1665


Joan Blaeu - 2006
    

The Adventures of Odysseus


Hugh Lupton - 2006
    But what Odysseus thinks is the end of his long absence is truly only the beginning...

Orpheus


Don Paterson - 2006
    Leishman and Stephen Spender in the 1930s, Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926) has never lost his significance for English-speaking poets. This is a new translation by Don Paterson.

Bionicle: Dark Hunters


Greg Farshtey - 2006
    Gathered from every corner of the universe, these thieves, enforcers, and monstrosities have come together in a powerful organization capable of anything. But who are these creatures? Where did they come from? And who-or what-controls them? Learn more about the villains of the Bionicle world-but remember, they may be studying you too.

The Mind Chronicles: A Visionary Guide into Past Lives


Barbara Hand Clow - 2006
    Using the mind state produced during 100 sessions of hypnotic regression, Barbara Hand Clow unlocks the primordial memory bank--the records of time in which all humans participate--offering readers critical information to reflect upon now. In The Mind Chronicles, Clow guides readers through 100,000 years of human history, using in-depth experiences of initiations and sacred ceremonies to illuminate the forgotten wisdom of our ancestors. She shows that this ancient knowledge, which is contained deep within all of us, is becoming even more relevant as the Mayan Calendar comes to a close and a new stage of evolution begins.

Dragons of Autumn Twilight - The Graphic Novel


Margaret Weis - 2006
    As a massive army led by the evil Verminaard prepares its final onslaught, paranoia and fear grips the populace. Only a small band of companions can save Krynn. But with even former friends ready to betray them, salvation may be impossible. Friendships will be tested. Lovers will be separated. And sacrifices will be demanded...

Sea Stars (Blastoff! Readers)


Ann Herriges - 2006
    Intended for kindergarten through third grade students.