In later legends, he was to become a figure of mystery, known as both the defender of humanity and the patron saint of dark magic. But now he sought only retirement on his family estates.His dream of justice and amicable relations between the races had turned to ashes in his mind. The medieval kingdom of Gwynedd groaned under the tyranny of Imre and his sister and mistress, Ariella. Normal humans were savagely persecuted by the king, whose Deryni ancestors had seized the throne from the rightful human Haldane line a century before. Camber could not even save his own son from the murderous treachery of Imre.When Camber learned that Cinhil Haldane, a descendant of the previous kings, still lived, he realized that the only hope for the kingdom lay in overthrowing Imre and restoring Cinhil to the throne. But Cinhil was a cloistered monk, hidden under his religious name in one of many monasteries, unaware of his heritage, untrained in politics. Could he be persuaded to leave the only life he knew and take on the leadership of a rebellion? And lacking the Deryni powers, could he hope to overcome the magic of the king? Grimly, Camber set out to locate Cinhil and spirit him from the cloister into a struggle that seemed doomed from the start.And behind came the minions of the king—for Imre was already aware of the plot and bent on destroying all involved in it.

    Have you ever wondered how Victorians like Jules Verne and H.G. Wells dreamed up all that fantastic futuristic fiction? Did it ever occur to you that it might have been based upon fact? That War of The Worlds was a true account of real events? That Captain Nemo’s Nautilus even now lies rusting at the bottom of the North Sea? And what about the other stuff? Did you know, for instance, that Jack the Ripper was a terminator robot sent from the future? In this book, learn how a cabal of Victorian Witches from the Chiswick Townswomen’s Guild, working with advanced Babbage super computers, rewrote 19th-century history, and how a 21st-century boy called Billy Starling uncovered the truth about everything.

    From the first page readers will be swept up in the story of Mai and Captain Anji, as they become unwitting players in a conflict that began many years earlier, and which will shake the foundations of their land.For hundreds of years the Guardians have ruled the world of the Hundred, but these powerful gods no longer exert their will on the world. Only the reeves, who patrol on enormous eagles, still represent the Guardians' power. And the reeves are losing their authority; for there is a dark shadow across the land that not even the reeves can stop.A group of fanatics has risen to devour villages, towns, and cities in their drive to annihilate all who oppose them. No one knows who leads them; they seem inhumanly cruel and powerful. Mai and Anji, riding with a company of dedicated warriors and a single reeve who may hold a key to stopping the deadly advance of the devouring horde, must try, or the world will be lost to the carnage. But a young woman sworn to the Goddess may prove more important than them all . . . if they are not too late.A haunting tale of people swept up by the chaos of war, this is superlative fantasy adventure, rich in texture, filled with color and excitement, masterfully crafted by a brilliantly gifted storyteller.

    The second son of a newly anointed nobleman, he must endure the rigors of military training at the elite King's Cavalla Academy--and survive the hatred, cruelty, and derision of his aristocratic classmates--before joining the King of Gernia's brutal campaign of territorial expansion. The life chosen for him will be fraught with hardship, for he must ultimately face a forest-dwelling folk who will not submit easily to a king's tyranny. And they possess an ancient magic their would-be conquerors have long discounted--a powerful sorcery that threatens to claim Nevare Burvelle's soul and devastate his world once the Dark Evening brings the carnival to Old Thares.

    the Kingdom is losing spies in Kesh, disappearing - either murdered, or turned to the enemy side. Information has become scant and unreliable; but dark forces are coming. The Keshian Confederacy is assembling under an old enemy in new guise., and powerful magician Pug's youngest son brings new apprentices into the family. As the men of the West answer the King's call to muster, Martin conDoin - left as caretaker of Crydee Keep - is left with old men and young boys

    Nesbit, Diana Wynne Jones, Gahan Wilson, and other literary luminaries. Sales of Unnatural Creatures benefit 826DC, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting students in their creative and expository writing, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write.

    The only thing harder than the journey to Muscovy is their arrival in Muscovy. An audience with the Duke seems impossible to obtain, and Darger and Surplus quickly become entangled in a morass of deceit and revolution.The only thing more dangerous than the convoluted political web surrounding Darger and Surplus is the gift itself, the Pearls of Byzantium, and Zoesophia, the governess sworn to protect their virtue.

    The author of The Secret Texts Trilogy (Courage of Falcons, Vengeance of Dragons, and Diplomacy of Wolves) takes readers back to the days before the ancient apocalypse, into the decadent heart of a fantastic empire in this evocative page-turner.--Booklist.

    But now the indomitable armies of the Emperor Balthasar stand poised to crush the vulnerable city/state. And in the enemy's midst is the gray mage Apolon -- foul necromancer who serves the Dreadful Dark . . . and whose mission it is to satsfy his Master's terrible hungers with living souls, the Heart of a Goddess, and the blood of a Princess.For Adele, aging Dowager Queen; for ruling Queen Lydana; and for Princess Shelyra, lithe, impetuous, ingenious Designated Daughter, the battle seems hopeless -- for they possess no defense, save for their wiles and weapons of the spirit. But the Tiger is a cunning beast, not to be underestimated. And when cornered, she bares her teeth . . . and strikes.

    C. Crispin, Ardath Mayhar, and Robert E. Vardeman.Introduction / Andre Norton --Of the shaping of Ulm's heir / by Andre Norton --Heir apparent / by Robert Bloch --Fenneca / by Wilanne Schneider Belden --Bloodspell / by A.C. Crispin --The white road / by Charles de Lint --Cat and the other / by Marylois Dunn --Oath-bound / by Pauline Griffin --Of ancient swords and evil mist / by James R. Heidbrink --Nine words in winter / by Caralyn Inks --Were-hunter / by Mercedes Lackey --Neither rest nor refuge / by Ardath Mayhar --To rebuild the eyrie / by Sasha Miller --Milk from a maiden's breast / by Elizabeth Scarborough --Night hound's moon / by Mary H. Schaub --Isle of illusion / by Carol Severance --Green in High Hallack / by Kiel Stuart --The road of dreams and death / by Robert E. Vardeman --Biographical notes

    Now three unsuspecting travelers are called by prophecy to face a legion of the undead and the powers of the Dark Lord in the faint hope of reclaiming the world for the light.

    Conquering and enslaving entire nations, these worshippers of the dark arts seek a legendary talisman, the Stone of the Stars, that will give Khalazar unfathomable power. But the only clues to the Stone’s location are contained in an ancient scroll, which rests in the hands of four young fugitives.Now this quartet of innocents—Ailia Shipwright, a storyteller from a small fishing village; Damion, a devoted yet troubled priest; Jomar, a runaway slave; and Lorelyn, a fearless orphaned visionary—must find and uncover the real nature of the Stone. Pursued and attacked by Khalazar and his fanatic warriors, these four travelers will journey to a long-vanished mystical isle where humans once dwelt alongside dragons. And it is here, amid the haunted ruins of a city built by a forgotten race, that their quest—and their destinies—will truly begin…

    A widower of high intelligence, he presides over an empire called Acacia, after the idyllic island from which he rules. He dotes on his four children and hides from them the dark realities of traffic in drugs and human lives on which their prosperity depends. He hopes that he might change this, but powerful forces stand in his way. And then a deadly assassin sent from a race called the Mein, exiled long ago to an ice-locked stronghold in the frozen north, strikes at Leodan in the heart of Acacia while they unleash surprise attacks across the empire. On his deathbed, Leodan puts into play a plan to allow his children to escape, each to their separate destiny. And so his children begin a quest to avenge their father's death and restore the Acacian empire — this time on the basis of universal freedom.

    This was his father’s sacred mission, and his father’s before him, going back countless generations in an effort to free their people from enslavement. But when Siris somehow succeeds where all those from his bloodline previously have failed, he finds himself cast into a much larger world, filled with warriors and thieves, ancient feuds and shifting alliances, Deathless immortals and would-be kings. His quest for freedom will take him on an epic journey in search of the mythical figure known as the Worker of Secrets – the one being in the world who can unravel the secrets of the Infinity Blade.Based on the bestselling video game from ChAIR Entertainment and Epic Games, this all-new adventure from acclaimed fantasy author Brandon Sanderson digs deeper into the fantastical world of Infinity Blade, a world of mystery and intrigue where magic and technology are indistinguishable, and even life and death are not what they seem.

    Echoes of the ancients' power are distant memories, tattered and faded by the passage of eons, but that is about to change. A new dawn has arrived. Latent abilities, harbored in mankind's deepest fibers, wait to be unleashed. Ancient evils awaken, and old fears ignite the fires of war.