In the Region of the Summer Stars by Stephen R. Lawhead is the start of an epic fantasy adventure series set in a realm rich in imagination and intrigue, and steeped in the wonder of the Celtic Otherworld. The isle of Eirlandia has been ravaged by the barbarian Scálda, who seek to conquer all. The High King has called for the warring clans and tribes of the Tuatha DeDanann to set aside their feuds and unite to fight to save their nation. Conor is the first-born son of the Celtic king Ardan mac Orsi. He should have been battlechief, but a birthmark casts him as unclean and that honor has fallen to his younger brother Liam. Conor is resigned to his fate, but wishes he could do something to earn his tribe’s respect. Sometimes wishes take unexpected turns—when Conor is wrongly accused of theft and cast out of his tribe, he embarks on a dangerous mission to not only prove his innocence but to expose the treachery that led him on this path. He also seeks the ethereal beauty he saw being abducted by the Scálda. Convinced that she is no mortal woman, but one of the faéry, Conor must find and rescue her. Because he knows that if the Scálda gain the secret of faéry magic, they will conquer his homeland.

Continue Alec's journey in the twisty, action-packed fourth book of the Spellshadow series. Pre-order now!

When Daylily flees to the Wilderlands, unknowingly pursued by her prince, she finds herself caught between time and legend, in a world of magic...and peril.

A short story of 4k words When he first saw the starving foreign child, he was five years old; the next time he saw her, he was six—and she was a ghost. A ghost who came at the start of every Christmas, lingering for twelve days before she once again left him in peace. Why did she choose to haunt him? And what, in the end, must he do to give the the peace they both deserve?

Raised in a little fishing town, Cairo Goodridge instead opts for a bigger brighter future in the concrete jungle, New York City. Success surrounds him, but all good things have to come to an end. After the cruel hand of mother nature brings destruction and desolation to his new home. He is forced to survive in the new untamed twisted city, were being human just doesn't cut it any more!The gods have played the Great Game for eons, and worlds have hung in the balance. Some worlds have survived, some have been destroyed, and some of the playing fields have existed in a draw. The last game nearly brought about the destruction of man and god alike, requiring drastic measures to reset the board. Now, the current iteration of the Great Game draws to a close, the winner nearly decided. All the gods have played their parts, save one. The God of Chaos has been unbound, the rules granting him one last move... But this particular god hates doing what is expected.

This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

Society's plug is about to be pulled, big time. At the stroke of midnight on 31 December 1999, computer systems all over the world will crash and plunge us into chaos. But so what if it's the downfall of civilization? These things happen. We'll just have to take it on the chin. Or at least up the nose. Because rejoice and give thanks, snuff is making a comeback. And who do we thank for this? Who is the man who brings joy to the nostrils of the nation? The tender blender with the blinder grinder? The master blaster with the louder powder? The geezer with the sneezer that's a real crowd pleaser? Mr Doveston, that's who, and this is his story. So forget about impending doom and enter the glamorous world of snuff-snorting. Oh, and don't forget to bring a hanky. Things could get a little messy later. Robert Rankin's latest novel gleefully chronicles the collapse of civilisation, as the world slides into chaos with a smile on its face and a finger up its nose. Prophetic vision of an imminent dystopia? Or just the rabid ranting of a snuff-crazed technophobe?

Short Story. In this tale, an entire nation has chosen to live under the wickedness of the Curse of Blood in return for peace and security, not realizing how it corrupts them to do so. But one man sees, and it's up to him and his son to break the Curse and save their people, at great personal cost to them both. A beautiful story of sacrifice and redemption.It is true, no matter how bad things get, they can always get worse. For a handful of survivors the worst is not a virulent superflu which has killed 99% of the earth's population. No, the worst comes when they learn they are not the only ones to live through the end of civilization; the creatures of the night have survived just fine, but with their food supply greatly diminished, they are ravenously hungry for human flesh and blood.And it's also true that when the going gets tough, the tough get going. In a desperate move, the survivors attempt to pit one predator against the other; knowing full well that in the end, the last people on earth will have to pick their poison.

Volume 1 of a collection of short stories about a mystical and wondrous world outside of our own.The Paths of Oraj is a collection of short stories about a mystical and wondrous world outside of our own. These fantasy/adventure stories follow four young characters, two of which are Human and two that are unique creatures of this world. They all, however, must transverse parallel obstacles as they grow and mature in a place where the weak die young and the strong must learn to forge their own paths to achieve their goals.

Mrs Milliard is on the verge of financial ruin. With a business deal about to expire unless her mechanical baker remembers his secret recipe, Mrs Milliard turns to Inspector Ambrose for help.Will Inspector Ambrose uncover the truth before the midnight deadline? Can he solve a mystery that seems impossible on first inspection? The culprit is closer than it seems, and time is running out.If you're a fan of detective stories, look no further! I H Laking's debut novella will wrap you up in the new world of the Empire.Mrs Milliard is on the verge of financial ruin. With a business deal about to expire unless her mechanical baker remembers his secret recipe, Mrs Milliard turns to Inspector Ambrose for help. But as Ambrose soon discovers, no one in Mrs Milliard's neighbourhood is ready to talk.Will Inspector Ambrose uncover the truth before Mrs Milliard's midnight deadline? Can he solve a mystery that seems impossible on first inspection? The culprit is closer than it seems, and time is running out.Join Inspector Ambrose and help him solve the mystery of Mrs Milliard's Mech today!

For one researcher, Triplet is a marvel promising both advanced technology and magic. But a world of sinister secrets lurks just below the surface . . . Grad student Danae Panya’s dream assignment has been approved. She’ll study Triplet, the strange planetary system scarred by nuclear war and connected through portals. The most experienced Courier of Triplet, Ravagin, will lead her to its hidden worlds—Threshold, Shamsheer, and Karyx—and introduce her to their secrets, including their advanced technology, their dark magic, and the captivating demon culture of the innermost planet. But though they begin their journey with only scholarly research in mind, Danae and Ravagin quickly find themselves embroiled in the menacing dynamics roiling throughout Triplet. Will Ravagin be able to get them both out alive?

Before Bobby Pendragon. Before Saint Dane. Before the war . . . Every territory of Halla has a Traveler. They lived for years--some even for decades--before learning of their true destiny. What was life like for Bobby Pendragon's fellow Travelers before they joined him in the fight to save every time and place that has ever existed? What led up to their becoming the guardians of Halla? The answers are here! In this first of three thrilling Pendragon prequels, read about Vo Spader's death-defying adventures in the underwater world of Cloral, Gunny Van Dyke's race to find a murderer in 1930's Manhattan on First Earth, and the tough challenges Kasha faced on Eelong well before Bobby Pendragon arrived . . .

Get ready for a wild run in bestselling author Kathryn Lasky's brand-new middle grade animal fantasy series. The horses are in danger. They were rounded up by the two-legs and forced onto a boat to cross the wide ocean. The journey went badly and the boat was deemed too heavy, so the two-legs forced the horses into the sea and sailed away, leaving the herd to die in the deep. By a miracle, the horses survived and made it to land. All but one -- the ghost horse, the leader of the pack. Now it's up to her daughter, only a filly, to take charge of the terrified herd. Stranded in a new land, surrounded by two-legs, will the horses find a way to live safe and free?

A great battle is on the horizon and drawing near. In preparation, Soren and his band must fly to the mysterious Northern Kingdoms to find allies and study the grim art of war. Meanwhile, St. Aggie's has fallen to the Pure Ones. If they are not stopped, they will launch another, more deadly attack against the great tree. And without allies from the north, Ga'Hoole will surely fall. Soren's mission must succeed. And the final battle must be won. The coming conflagration will demand wisdom, bravery, and sacrifice from all the owls of the great tree, and from Soren and the band, nothing less the heroism.

Gifted novelist Fowler ( Sarah Canary and The Sweetheart Season ) delights in the arcane, and as a result, these 15 clever tales are occasionally puzzling but never dull. In the long title story, "Black Glass", temperance activist Carry Nation is resurrected in the 1990s ("We're talking about a very troubled, very big woman," says one shaken barman to reporters) and becomes such a nuisance that the DEA is forced to dispatch her with voodoo. Other plots are only slightly less outrageous in conceit. In "Lieserl," a lovesick madwoman dupes Albert Einstein into believing he has a daughter; in "The Faithful Companion at Forty," Tonto admits to second thoughts about his biggest life choice ("But for every day, for your ordinary life, a mask is only going to make you more obvious. There's an element of exhibitionism in it"). "The Travails" offers a peek at the one-sided correspondence of Mary Gulliver, who wants Lemuel to come home already and help out around the house. The homage to Swift makes sense, for, when Fowler doesn't settle for amusing her readers, she makes a lively satirist. The extraterrestrials who appear in her stories (whether the inscrutably sadistic monsters in "Duplicity" or the members of a seminar studying late-1960s college behavior in "The View from Venus: A Case Study") seem stand-ins for the author herself, who, in elegant and witty prose, cultivates the eye of a curious alien and, along the way, unfolds eccentric plots that keep the pages turning. Contents: Black Glass (1991) Contention (1986) Shimabara (1995) The Elizabeth Complex (1996) Go Back (1998) The Travails (1998) Lieserl (1990) Letters from Home (1987) Duplicity (1989) The Faithful Companion at Forty (1987) The Brew (1995) Lily Red (1988) The Black Fairy's Curse (1997) The View from Venus (1986) Game Night at the Fox and Goose (1989)