Among those out of favor with the new liege is the Order of the Botahist Monks, whose mystical powers have enabled them to hold positions as Spiritual Advisers to the Imperial court for nearly ten centuries. But Emperor Akantsu fears none so greatly as he does Lord Shonto, the brilliant leader of the most important of the Old Families, whose influence could rally the Great Houses against the throne, and whose adopted daughter, the beautiful and talented Lady Nishima, is the last surviving member of the old royal family. Sent to be military Governor of a northern border province long threatened by barbarian invaders, Lord Shonto knows he is being lured to his death. But Akantsu has underestimated his foe, for not only is Lord Shonto the greatest military genius of the age, but he has with him a Spiritual Adviser from the Botahist Order—a young man gifted with extraordinary martial arts skills and magical abilities, Initiate Brother Shuyun. And even Lord Shonto does not realize the true potential of this young monk. Only time will reveal that Shuyun’s magical powers have not seen their equal in nearly a thousand years—not since the Perfect Master himself walked the paths of the Empire…

    One day Lucinda was an obscure, dowdy country girl; the next, she was the diamond-decked mistress of a vast London town house and wife to a young lord, legendary for his wealth, daring escapades, and magnetic attraction for women. Would the world wonder why he chose her? Would they guess he was using this young girl to cover his affair with the glittering, sophisticated Lady Devereux? Lucinda hadn't time to care. She was too busy becoming the overnight darling of London society--too busy earning the notice and respect of the man she was irresistibly, hopelessly, growing to love.

    Now, a vast conspiracy of evil is determined to eradicate the New Gods, stealing their souls to wield universal power that can destroy all of reality.At the end of an age in which time, space, and reality may bow before such sinister forces, the fate of the Earth lies in the hands of five unlikely super heroes who have one destiny to fulfill: to save the world at all costs, regardless of the consequences.

    Caim makes his living on the edge of a blade, but when a routine job goes south, he is thrust into the middle of an insidious plot. Pitted against crooked lawmen, rival killers and sorcery from the Other Side, his only allies are Josephine, the socialite daughter of his last target, and Kit, a guardian spirit no one else can see. In this fight for his life, Caim only trusts his knives and his instincts, but they won't be enough when his quest for justice leads him from Othir's hazardous back alleys to its shining corridors of power. To unmask a conspiracy at the heart of the empire, he must claim his birthright as the Shadow's Son...

    Tonight, though, Cullin will educate the prince in the truth behind minstrels' silly songs of glory.Long ago, in a kingdom, well, not that far from here really, young Cullin traveled the countryside as squire to brave Sir Dalbry, along with Dalbry's trusted sidekick Reeger, selling dragon-protection services to every kingdom with a coffer. There were no dragons, of course, but with a collection of severed alligator heads and a willingness to play dirty, the trio of con men was crushing the competition. Then along came Princess Affonyl.Tomboyish and with a head for alchemy, Affonyl faked a dragon of her own, escaped her arranged marriage, and threw in with Cullin and company. But with her father sending a crew of do-gooder knights to find her, the dragon business just got cutthroat.

    They are assigned to bond with individuals of great potential and then protect them from harm while guiding them along a path of virtue.This is as it has been for years unto creation ... but when a young Finest is separated from its mentor before it has been invested with its assignment, the result of an ambush by evil forces bent on corrupting men, the young equine accepts the charge of two orphans to its care not realizing that man's potential may rest in their future.... And that the path forward is already being diverted by an evil mastermind whose manipulation of court politics and affairs of state might instigate a new dark age upon the light of civilization.The Finest Series combines elements of Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar series with C.S.Lewis's Narnia for an inspiring tale of mystical intrigue and the crucible of morality for mankind.

    Inscribed runes spelled out a promise beyond belief. The Key To Paradise. A promise and a quest. Giles Grimsmate, world-wandering survivor of the Trans wars, had won it fairly in a game of chance. The second key - along with a goodly haul of coin - had been stolen from a rich merchant by Keja Tchurak, master thief. And when they set out for the invisible Gates of Paradise, Petia, half-cat, half-woman, tracked them with silent night-skills. Yet to enter Paradise, three keys more were needed: The Flame Key, watched over by a cave-dwelling fire sorceress. The Key of the Skeleton Lord, devil-guarded in a desert place of scorpions and snakes. The Key of Ice and Steel, fast-locked in an underground smithy, protected by a frozen demon-prowled maze. Five keys, scattered throughout a realm of supernatural happenings, strange creatures and otherworldly powers:

    In the heart of the Deepwoods, Rook encounters a mysterious character - the last sky pirate . . . Vox High in the crumbling Palace of Statues, little more than a prisoner of the all-powerful Guardians of the Night, Vox Verlix plots and schemes . . . Rook Barkwater finds himself embroiled in Vox's scheming.He must stop him or the Edgeworld could fall into total chaos . . . Freeglader Undertown is destroyed! Gnokgoblins, waifs and cloddertrogs huddle by the ruins, preparing for a mass exodus to the Free Glades. Rook Barkwater knows the journey will be full of peril. Dangers are everywhere, and in the Goblin Nations, the tribes are massing for war. Can Rook and his friends preserve freedom in the Edgeworld?

    Chosen by the Gods, he is thrust into a world he knows little about and must grow stronger to face powerful invaders from other worlds.

    Part of the Shadows Beneath - The Writing Excuses Anthology

    Anderson. Working from Frank Herbert's own notes, the acclaimed authors reveal the chapter of the Dune saga most eagerly anticipated by readers: the Butlerian Jihad.Throughout the Dune novels, Frank Herbert frequently referred to the war in which humans wrested their freedom from "thinking machines." In Dune: The Butlerian Jihad, Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson bring to life the story of that war, a tale previously seen only in tantalizing hints and clues. Finally, we see how Serena Butler's passionate grief ignites the struggle that will liberate humans from their machine masters; here is the amazing tale of the Zensunni Wanderers, who escape bondage to flee to the desert world where they will declare themselves the Free Men of Dune. And here is the backward, nearly forgotten planet of Arrakis, where traders have discovered the remarkable properties of the spice melange. . . . Dune: The Machine Crusade More than two decades have passed since the events chronicled in Dune: The Butlerian Jihad. The crusade against thinking robots has ground on for years, but the forces led by Serena Butler and Irbis Ginjo have made only slight gains; the human worlds grow weary of war, of the bloody, inconclusive swing from victory to defeat.The fearsome cymeks, led by Agamemnon, hatch new plots to regain their lost power from Omnius--as their numbers dwindle and time begins to run out. The fighters of Ginaz, led by Jool Noret, forge themselves into an elite warrior class, a weapon against the machine-dominated worlds. Aurelius Venport and Norma Cenva are on the verge of the most important discovery in human history-a way to "fold" space and travel instantaneously to any place in the galaxy.And on the faraway, nearly worthless planet of Arrakis, Selim Wormrider and his band of outlaws take the first steps to making themselves the feared fighters who will change the course of history: the Fremen.Here is the unrivaled imaginative power that has put Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson on bestseller lists everywhere and earned them the high regard of readers around the globe. The fantastic saga of Dune continues in Dune: The Machine Crusade. Dune: The Battle of Corrin It has been fifty-six hard years since the events of Dune: The Machine Crusade. Following the death of Serena Butler, the bloodiest decades of the Jihad take place. Synchronized Worlds and Unallied Planets are liberated one by one, and at long last, after years of victory, the human worlds begin to hope that the end of the centuries-long conflict with the thinking machines is finally in sight.Unfortunately, Omnius has one last, deadly card to play. In a last-ditch effort to destroy humankind, virulent plagues are let loose throughout the galaxy, decimating the populations of whole planets . . . and once again, the tide of the titanic struggle shifts against the warriors of the human race. At last, the war that has lasted many lifetimes will be decided in the apocalyptic Battle of Corrin.In the greatest battle in science fiction history, human and machine face off one last time. . . . And on the desert planet of Arrakis, the legendary Fremen of Dune become the feared fighting force to be discovered by Paul Muad'Dib in Frank Herbert's classic, Dune.

    One impossible heist. The gripping Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom duology, by #1 New York Times-bestselling author Leigh Bardugo, is now available in a stunning hardcover boxed set.Follow Kaz and his crew into a world of magic and mayhem as they attempt to pull off—and survive—the job of a lifetime.

    Beset by greenskins, and hampered on all sides by the ambitions of rival magnates, he is soon fighting to keep the fractious province together. But the rot runs deep. Powerful forces in Altdorf seem determined to see him fail, and suspicion falls on even his most trusted allies. When all is at its bleakest, the mark of Chaos and the full horror of his task is finally revealed. Alone, doubted by those closest to him, this will be Schwarzhelm's greatest ever challenge, one on which the destiny of the Empire itself depends.

    Benny isn’t interested in the family business, but he reluctantly agrees to train as a zombie killer with his big brother Tom. He expects a dull job, whacking zoms for cash. What he discovers is a vocation that will teach him what it really means to be human. This boxed set contains the complete series: Rot & Ruin, Dust & Decay, Flesh & Bone, and Fire & Ash.