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Wizard at Large

fantasy

In an attempt to return Abernathy to his former human self, court wizard Questor Thews inadvertently sends the canine court scribe, along with Ben Holiday's royal medallion, to Earth. Specifically, Abernathy ends up with the medallion in the menagerie of Michel Ard Rhi, a cruel former prince of Landover who was banished from Landover years ago. Ard Rhi is now a Washington state billionaire who keeps a collection of rare and magical items in his personal castle. As part of the botched spell, Abernathy is exchanged for one of Ard Rhi's magical artifacts, and a strange bottle appears in Landover in Abernathy's place. The bottle contains a Darkling, a creature similar to an evil genie that corrupts its master. The bottle is stolen by the G'home Gnomes Filip and Sot, and Ben gives chase along with Questor, Willow, and Bunion. Ben and Willow later decide to use Questor's magic to travel to Earth to find Abernathy. With the help of Miles, Ben's old law partner, and Elizabeth, the daughter of one of Ard Rhi's employees, Abernathy is rescued. However, Ard Rhi uses his influence to have the party detained at a police station. Meanwhile, Questor continues to pursue the Darkling. He finds that through a series of thefts, the bottle has ended up in the hands of the evil witch Nightshade. Knowing that only the High Lord can defeat Nightshade, Questor decides to try to convince the dragon Strabo to fly him through the fairy mists to Earth. Using an itch spell, Questor gets the dragon to agree. They arrive at the last moment to rescue Ben and his friends from the police station and fly them back to Landover, but not before Questor uses his magic to restore Ard Rhi's conscience and convince him to give away his vast estate. Ben and Questor confront Nightshade, and Ben uses his medallion to summon his knight champion, the Paladin. Nightshade, however, uses the Darkling to conjure a perverse version of the Paladin, and the creations give battle. Questor, meanwhile, manages to shrink himself and act as a stopper in the Darkling's bottle, cutting off the source of its power. The Darkling is destroyed, Nightshade flees, and order is restored to Landover.

Fablehaven: Keys to the Demon Prison

fantasy

Kendra, Seth, and the Knights of the Dawn continue to take the last possible steps to safeguard the keys and locks placed on Zzyzx. Seth was taken captive to a preserve unknown to the world. However, as a result of a certain attempt, the Society gained all the keys to the demon prison. With this added worry, as Kendra finds out, comes some advantages previously unimaginable. Kendra gains two new allies and finds an old friend during her extremely short visit in the same cell as her brother had been. The three, Kendra, Warren, and Bracken, take the very last, final steps to prevent the demon horde from escaping. After retreating over the preserve's wall, the three race to beat the Society to the final locks that hold Zzyzx shut. Their problem: they would be trapped inside the preserve without outside help. Their troubles include a tempting yet lethal grove of trees, a roc parent, and some furious harpies. On his journey, Bracken finds an "old friend." Meanwhile, Seth is coping with a friend's death and a betrayal back at Fablehaven. Patton Burgess, in a gaseous form, suggests some truly desperate ideas to oppose the demon horde. Seth must call upon his loyalty, devotion, and his unique traits to gain a powerful weapon, a remnant from an age of wonders that may save the world. When all of the demon prison's locks were undone, the hour had arrived to unite. They all meet up at the place where the ship Lady Luck will take them to Shoreless Isle. They use the items to summon the Lady Luck. Seth uses force to convince the ghost of the Lady Luck to take them there. They find a Fairy Queen Shrine near Zzyzx. Kendra and Bracken speak once more to the Fairy Queen, who tells them that she has destroyed all of her other shrines, and they have one final secret plan that may just grant success. The astrids' dream comes true. Bracken needed the five artifacts, so Seth, some astrids, and the Sphinx transport into the dome and reclaim the artifacts. After a success on the battlefield, Kendra, Seth, and all creatures of Light must wait to see whether Bracken's plan would work and whether the world would live to see a dawning of a new age of security, when Kendra can finally find peace and joy and reclaim a life even better than the one that was stolen from her.

Stalking the Unicorn

fantasy

Mallory, a private investigator from New York, spends New Year’s Eve in his office, with a bottle of whisky, and in a terrible mood. His business partner left for California with Mallory’s wife, having also blackmailed some of their clients. Since the infuriated victims head for the detective’s office, it seems that the night will end up tragically; yet, the plot suddenly takes an unexpected turn as in the room appears a strange creature, an elf called Mürgenstürm. Mürgenstürm, who comes from an alternative world, is in equally serious trouble. He was obliged to guard a valuable animal, the unicorn called Larkspur. He neglected his duty and the unicorn was stolen. Now, the elf’s life is in danger, so he wants to take advantage of Mallory’s service. As he has no other way out of trouble the detective decides to follow Mürgenstürm, and to search for the stolen animal. They enter the alternative New York through the gate in the basement of the very building where Mallory has his office. When the detective examines the scene of the crime, he encounters the eye-witness, a cat-girl Felina, who, despite her cat-like personality, will become Mallory’s loyal partner. She reveals that the culprit is a leprechaun, Gillespie, working for a perilous and powerful demon Grundy that is responsible for spreading evil in both New Yorks. At the same time, the Grundy finds out about Mallory’s investigation and tries to dissuade him from taking further steps. Nevertheless, Mallory does not abandon the investigation and in search of information about the unicorn visits various places in the alternative New York, such as the Museum of Natural History, full of dead yet regularly reviving animals, and Central Park, occupied by wholesalers offering completely useless goods. On his way Mallory meets Eohippus, a six-inch tall horse that helps him find the expert on unicorns, a former huntress still craving for adventure, Colonel Winifred Carruthers. Unlike Mürgenstürm, who gradually turns out to be more an accomplice in the crime than the victim, Carruthers and Eohippus are valuable allies. Due to Colonel, Mallory comes into contact with a magician, The Great Mephisto, and finds out the motives for the crime. In the unicorn’s head there is a ruby that would enable the Grundy to move freely between the two worlds and gain more power than he has ever had. After a long search Mallory reaches Gillespie’s flat on the 13th floor of a cheap hotel only to find out that the leprechaun ran away, the unicorn is already dead, and the gate between the two cities begins to close. In the meantime, Mallory’s partners, Colonel and Eohippus, are caught by Gillespie. Soon after that the detective receives an invitation to the auction at which the precious ruby is to be sold. The Grundy appears there too, and he seems to have all the cards. Yet, it turns out that Mallory, with the help of Felina, has already found and hidden the jewel, which gives him an advantage over the enemy. Grundy sets Mallory’s friends free and agrees to wait until the detective delivers the ruby. Mallory, who has no intention of letting the Grundy wreak havoc in both worlds, has the jewel transported to "his" New York just before the passage between the two worlds closes. Then he meets the Grundy only to inform him about it. Since the demon cannot be sure whether Mallory tells the truth he does not dare to kill the detective, but promises to have his revenge in the future. Mallory is content to stay in the alternative New York, where his work makes more sense. He is determined to continue his struggle against evil having the noble Colonel and of the mysterious Felina at his side.

Westmark

fantasy

It is a complicated and politically dangerous period in Westmark. The country's ruler, King Augustine IV, has slipped into dementia, depression and illness since the supposed death of his only child, the Princess Augusta, over six years ago. Despite the efforts of the Queen, Caroline, and the court physician, Dr. Torrens, the King is increasingly manipulated by his chief minister Cabbarus, who has designs on the throne. While the ill king is kept distracted by a series of mystics and charlatans who claim to be able to speak to his dead child, Cabbarus increases his control over Westmark, restricting freedoms and abusing the king's powers. Young Theo, an orphan, has been raised by a small town printer named Anton. After the pair accepts a job from a travelling salesman they are investigated by Cabbarus' men, who declare their job illegal and proceed to destroy their press. In the ensuing scuffle and chase, Theo attacks a soldier and Anton is shot and killed. With no one else to turn to, Theo takes to the countryside, eventually meeting up with the men who hired him and Anton for the printing job: Count Las Bombas, a con artist, and his dwarf driver/partner Musket. Theo joins up with them, rather reluctantly, and ends up participating in their money-making schemes. They eventually discover a girl named Mickle, a poor street urchin, who has a talent for throwing her voice and mimicry. The Count builds a charade around Mickle, dressing her up as the Oracle Priestess and putting her on display, claiming that she can speak to the spirits of the dead. Theo, despite his growing affection for the bright but vulnerable Mickle, begins to find his new life too dishonest for his tastes and abandons the group, eventually falling in with Florian, an anti-monarchist and rebel who plans revolution with his band of loyal followers. Meanwhile, Mickle, Las Bombas, and Musket have been arrested for fraud, Cabbarus has attempted to have Dr. Torrens assassinated and a politically minded journalist, Keller, goes into hiding to save himself from Cabbarus' wrath. Events come to a head when Theo plots to break his old companions out of prison, with help from Florian and his allies. Their reunion, however, does not last long; Cabbarus has tracked them down and has them all arrested. He brings the group to the Old Juliana, the palace of King Augustine IV and Queen Caroline, where reveals his plans to the group and of how the "Oracle Priestess" will be his pawn to his uprising to the throne. While in Old Juliana, Mickle comes across a trapdoor leading to a water canal, and her memories race in her mind as she remembers her childhood. This leads to her high fever and Theo's worry of her having to act. Cabbarus presents the group to the King and Queen and the courtiers as the Oracle Priestess, and suddenly Mickle's long-repressed childhood memories come to the surface, revealing treason, attempted murder and corruption in the heart of the Westmark government. It is later revealed that Mickle is the long-lost Princess Augusta and that chief minister Cabbarus was responsible for her disappearance. Eventually, on the subject of Cabbarus's punishment, Theo, on behalf of his conscience, sends him into exile, instead of killing him. This decision will have a major effect on the final book of the Westmark trilogy, The Beggar Queen.

Castle

fantasy

Tal and Milla make it from the shadowy 'Dark World' to the titular castle, a seeming place of peace. Both are unwanted by the castle's inhabitants, Milla the most. The two must avoid conspiracies and other dangers inside the castle, just to survive.

The Deluge Drivers

fantasy

After resigning himself to perhaps being trapped on Tran-Ky-Ky for the rest of his life, Ethan Fortune learns that scientists at the outpost of Brass Monkey have detected a steady warming in the planet’s atmosphere. This has caused something not seen in generations on the planet: open water on the ice oceans of Tran-Ky-Ky. Taking the giant icerigger Slanderscree with a crew of Tran to investigate, Fortune learns that the warming of the oceans isn’t an accidental or natural event.

The Courts of Chaos

fantasy

Corwin sulks in Castle Amber's library while Oberon gives the family orders for a massive battle with the forces of Chaos. Random persuades Corwin to leave, but they are held back by an invisible force. They watch as Corwin's sword appears and chops off Benedict's new arm, just as Corwin did in Tir-na Nog'th. The sword and the arm disappear, and Corwin and Random are released. Dara and Martin are with Benedict. Corwin learns from Martin's trumps that the crossbowman who spared him is Merlin. Dara tells how Brand bargained with the Courts of Chaos. They wished to replace him with Merlin. However, Dara feared that neither would keep their word. She relays Oberon's orders to attack the courts immediately to Benedict. Still unconvinced, Corwin contacts Fiona. She confirms Dara's authority, and says that Oberon is about to repair the Pattern. Hoping to save Oberon, Corwin projects himself through, grabs the Jewel, and runs for the Pattern, but he is paralyzed by Oberon's magics before he can reach it. Oberon has a final talk with his son, explaining that while he had set Corwin up to meet him in Lorraine, he had enjoyed being Corwin's friend, and he wants Corwin to succeed him as King of Amber, with Dara as his queen. Corwin explains that he no longer wants to rule. Oberon, disappointed, dismisses Corwin using a trump-like effect. Once Corwin confirms Dara's authority, Benedict uses the trump of the Courts of Chaos to begin his attack. Dara talks to Corwin, and they decide that although they were used as pawns to create Merlin, they still like each other. Dara then leaves to give the rest of the family their orders. Gérard is ordered to stay and guard Amber, while Julian and Random are to stay in Arden. Oberon arrives, and asks Corwin for some of his blood. He breathes life into the blood, and it becomes a red raven. Oberon tells Corwin that the raven will follow him through shadow. Corwin's orders are to hellride towards Chaos as fast as possible. He must bear the Jewel through shadow. Corwin says goodbye to his father, and sets off. Now that he knows that Amber is just the first Shadow, he finds he can shift shadow there more easily. As he rides towards Chaos, he follows the Black Road. After a time, he notices the black road begin to come apart; shortly after, the raven arrives and gives him the Jewel. Corwin is unsure whether this means that Oberon has succeeded or failed. Brand arrives, telling him that he watched Oberon fail, and that Corwin must give him the Jewel so he can create a new Pattern. Corwin refuses, and forces Brand to leave. He notices an unusually large storm following him, and takes refuge in a cave. The cave's other occupant, a nameless stranger who has also sought shelter from the storm, casually mentions some local legends about the Archangel Corwin, who, according to scripture will ride before a storm at the end of the world. The real Corwin dismisses this story as nonsense and commands the Jewel to quell the storm. Eventually he falls asleep. When he wakes, his horse has been kidnapped. He says goodbye to the stranger and tracks his horse to a cave, blocked off by a large boulder, which he shatters. Inside, leprechauns are celebrating a feast. Observing his great strength, they return his horse and invite him to join them. Succumbing to their odd charm, he starts to fall asleep, but rouses himself in time to see them preparing to slaughter him. He awakes and rushes outside. As he leaves, the leader of the wee folk recognizes him as the Archangel Corwin from local legends, mentioned before by the nameless stranger. He starts to move into shadow, but as he moves further from the cave where he slept the universe starts to come apart around him. He realizes that the storm was a wave of Chaos, moving away from Amber as the multiverse is destroyed. He begins to doubt whether Oberon was successful. Using the jewel, he is able to overtake the storm and return to the diminishing multiverse. A strange lady dines with him and attempts to seduce him, but remembering his encounter with the pale lady on the black road (who may or may have not been a copy of Dara), and that he's working to a deadline, he declines. Brand ambushes him with a crossbow, mortally wounding his horse, but the blood raven reappears and plucks out one of Brand's eyes. Corwin puts down his horse and continues striding through shadow. Corwin cuts a branch off a tree as a walking aid. The tree complains, but when it learns that he is Oberon's son it gives him its blessing. It says that it is Ygg, and that Oberon planted it in Amber's distant past to mark the boundary between Order and Chaos. It tells him to plant the staff somewhere it will have the chance to grow. A talking raven named Hugi (of the usual color) arrives, and tries to distract Corwin with fatalistic philosophy. It shows Corwin the head of a mostly-drowned Giant, who will not even allow the possibility of rescue. A mythological jackal offers to lead Corwin on a short-cut to the Courts, but instead leads him to its lair, where Corwin kills it in self-defense. He finally finds a shadow with the Courts' sky, but is aghast to discover that the Courts still lie across a huge wasteland. The raven Hugi returns and pointedly tells him it knew all along, so he kills it for his dinner. As the metaphysical storm approaches Chaos, Corwin decides that Oberon must have failed, so he plants his staff and begins to use the Jewel to inscribe a new Pattern. The process evokes memories of his former life in Paris, France, and we are given the impression that these somehow shape the new Pattern. He finishes, but is exhausted, and he collapses at the new Pattern's center. Brand projects himself to Corwin and steals the Jewel. Corwin loses consciousness. Corwin awakes to find the area surrounding his Pattern transformed. The sky is now white, and the staff has grown into a tree. Corwin realises that he is at the center of a Pattern, and commands it to teleport him to the Courts. He arrives in the courts, only to be challenged to single combat by someone who introduces himself as Borel, Master at Arms of the Courts of Chaos. He removes his armour to make the fight fair, but Corwin, having no time for a fair fight, slays him then and there, although he does feel slightly guilty about it afterward. Corwin finds Brand with Fiona, Random and Deirdre, at the edge of the Abyss. Fiona is keeping him psychically bound, but Brand has Deirdre as a hostage. Suddenly an image of Oberon fills the sky, telling them that Corwin must use the Jewel to save them from the oncoming Chaos storm, and gives them a blessing. Corwin makes use of the distraction and his attunement to the jewel to super-heat Brand, but Brand realizes what's happening and starts to cut Deirdre. She pulls herself free, and Brand is shot in the chest and throat with a bow. He staggers, and grabs Deirdre's hair. They both fall into the Abyss. Corwin tries to follow her, and Random has to knock him out. Corwin wakes up to see Caine there, alive and well. He explains how he faked his own death and spied on the others using the Trumps. It was him who shot Brand, using silver-tipped arrows, just in case. They watch Amber's armies crush the forces of Chaos while the storm continues to advance. A funeral procession, led by Dworkin, emerges from the storm front, accompanied by all sorts of various fantastic beasts. Fiona appears with Dara and Corwin's son, Merlin. Corwin discusses with Fiona the possibility that two Patterns now exist; she can't decide whether that is good or bad. Dara arrives, angry with Corwin for killing Borel, and then leaves. Merlin arrives with her, but stays, eager to learn more about his father. The Unicorn appears from the Abyss, wearing the Jewel of Judgement. It examines each of the Amberites in turn, then kneels in front of Random. The rest of the family kneel in front of him too, and pledge their allegiance to him as the new King. Random takes the Jewel, and Corwin is able to guide him through the attunement process. Corwin is exhausted, and stays with Random while the others go to the Courts, where they think they should be safe. Merlin stays, and asks to hear about his father's adventures. Corwin begins narrating the Chronicles to his son. Random is successful, and the Trumps become active. They contact Gérard, who tells them that the multiverse is fine, although seven years have passed. Corwin reflects on his changed attitudes towards his family, and on the changes in himself.

Too Many Magicians

fantasy

The novel takes place in 1966. However, it occurs in a world with an alternative history. The Plantagenet kings survived and rule a large Anglo-French Empire. In addition, around AD 1300 the laws of magic were discovered and magical science developed. The physical sciences were never pursued. The society looks early Victorian, though medical magic is superior to our medicine. The book uses the conventions of a detective story. The protagonist is Lord Darcy, Chief Investigator for the Duke of Normandy. This Sherlock Holmes-like figure is assisted by Master Sean O’Lochlainn, a forensic sorcerer. The novel is a locked room mystery, which takes place at a wizards’ convention. Garrett delights in puns. Analogues of Nero Wolfe, Archie Goodwin, James Bond and Gandalf the Grey appear. Lord Darcy also appears in several other novellas and short stories by Garrett, but this is Garrett's only novel-length Lord Darcy story. Michael Kurland has written two further novels set in the Lord Darcy universe.

Bone Dance

fantasy

In the opening scene, Sparrow cannot recall what took place in the preceding 36 hours. Awakening yet again in a novel place with new hurts, the urge to fix the problem is intense. On the way to enlightenment comes a cryptic Tarot reading from friend Sherrea, abduction by a dead man animated by what might as well be a Loa, and introduction to a Vodun-based community that is dedicated to replacement, and if necessary to overthrow, of the status quo in the city. The latter has the individual most responsible for the inter-continental war near its power apex, a character who is also the revenge target of another survivor from his kind. Those are the "Horsemen," modified people who can move their consciousness from body to body, much like the central figure in Mind of my Mind by Octavia Butler. The second half of the story shows Sparrow's awkward progress toward a fully human condition and becoming a valued member of a community, and is capped by a closing conceit: that the whole telling has been an autobiography.

Born to Exile

fantasy

Born to Exile concerns the adventures of a wandering minstrel called Alaric, who possesses the otherwise unknown ability to teleport. The novel details his journey to uncover the secrets of his own past and the true nature of his mysterious ability. For eight weary months, Alaric the minstrel trudged the lonely road of exile. Born with preternatural powers, the infant Alaric had been found by foster parents abandoned on a hillside, newborn and naked, with a bloody, severed hand clutching his ankles. Older and with those powers on full display, he suddenly found himself rejected by his foster family, branded a witch-child. Alaric now wanders the world as a solitary wayfarer, with a knapsack, a few clothes, and a lute his only possessions. On this journey, he encounters the craggy towers and shining spires of a distant castle, like some gleaming vision in one his songs. Within, Alaric is accepted as court minstrel but becomes embroiled in palace intrigue that involves Medron, the court magician, and the King's daughter, Princess Solinde. Subsequently, he journey's to the sinister Inn of the Black Swan and then to a superstition-ensorcelled village. There, Alaric is restored to his supernatural antecedents, known as the Lords of All Power.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

fantasy

Before the start of the novel, Voldemort, considered the most evil and powerful dark wizard in history, kills Harry's parents but mysteriously vanishes after trying to kill the infant Harry. While the wizarding world celebrates Voldemort's downfall, Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall and Rubeus Hagrid place the one year-old orphan in the care of his Muggle (non-wizard) uncle and aunt: Vernon and Petunia Dursley. For ten years, they and their son Dudley neglect, torment and abuse Harry. Shortly before Harry's eleventh birthday, a series of letters addressed to Harry arrive, but Vernon destroys them before Harry can read them. To get away from the letters, Vernon takes the family to a small island. As they are settling in, Hagrid bursts through the door to tell Harry what the Dursleys have kept him from finding out: Harry is a wizard and has been accepted at Hogwarts. Hagrid takes Harry to Diagon Alley, a magically-concealed shopping precinct in London, where Harry is bewildered to discover how famous he is among wizards as "the boy who lived". He also finds that he is quite wealthy, since a bequest from his parents has remained on deposit at Gringotts Wizarding Bank. Guided by Hagrid, he buys the books and equipment he needs for Hogwarts, as well as Hedwig the owl. At the wand shop, he finds that the wand that suits him best is the twin of Voldemort's; both wands contain feathers from the same phoenix. A month later Harry leaves the Dursleys' home to catch the Hogwarts Express from King's Cross railway station. There he meets the Weasley family, who show him how to pass through the magical wall to Platform 9¾, where the train is waiting. While on the train Harry makes friends with Ron Weasley, who tells him that someone tried to rob a vault at Gringotts. During the ride they meet Hermione Granger. Another new pupil, Draco Malfoy, accompanied by his sidekicks Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, offers to advise Harry, but Harry dislikes Draco's arrogance and prejudice. Before the term's first dinner in the school's Great Hall, the new pupils are allocated to houses by the magical Sorting Hat. Before it is Harry's turn, he catches Professor Snape's eye and feels a pain in the scar Voldemort left on his forehead. When it is Harry's turn to be sorted, the Hat wonders whether he should be in Slytherin, but when Harry objects, the Hat sends him to join the Weasleys in Gryffindor. While Harry is eating, he questions Percy Weasley about Snape. After a terrible first Potions lesson with Snape, Harry and Ron visit Hagrid, who lives in a rustic house on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. There they learn that the attempted robbery at Gringotts happened the day Harry withdrew money. Harry remembers that Hagrid had removed a small package from the vault that was broken into and searched. During the new pupils' first broom-flying lesson, Neville Longbottom breaks his wrist, and Draco takes advantage to throw the forgetful Neville's fragile Remembrall high in the air. Harry gives chase on his broomstick, catching the Remembrall inches from the ground. Professor McGonagall dashes out and appoints him as the new Seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. When Draco tricks Ron and Harry, accompanied by Neville and Hermione Granger, into a midnight excursion, they accidentally enter a forbidden corridor and find a huge three-headed dog. The group hastily retreats, and Hermione notices that the dog is standing over a trap-door. Harry concludes that the monster is guarding the package Hagrid retrieved from Gringotts. After Ron criticises Hermione's ostentatious proficiency in Charms, she hides in tears in the girls' toilet. At the Halloween Night dinner,Professor Quirrell hastily reports that a troll has entered the dungeons. While everyone else returns to their dormitories, Harry and Ron rush to warn Hermione. The troll corners Hermione in the toilet but when Harry sticks his wand up one of its nostrils, Ron uses the levitation spell to knock out the troll with its own club. Afterwards, several professors arrive and Hermione takes the blame for the battle and becomes a firm friend of the two boys. The evening before Harry's first Quidditch match, he sees Snape receiving medical attention from Filch for a bite on his leg by the three-headed dog. During the game, Harry's broomstick goes out of control, endangering his life, and Hermione notices that Snape is staring at Harry and muttering. She dashes over to the Professors' stand, knocking over Professor Quirrell in her haste, and sets fire to Snape's robe. Harry regains control of his broomstick and catches the Golden Snitch, winning the game for Gryffindor. Hagrid refuses to believe that Snape was responsible for Harry's danger, but lets slip that he bought the three-headed dog, and that the monster is guarding a secret that belongs to Professor Dumbledore and someone called Nicolas Flamel. Harry and the Weasleys stay at Hogwarts for Christmas, and one of Harry's presents, from an anonymous donor, is an Invisibility Cloak owned by his father. Harry uses the Cloak to search the library's Restricted Section for information about the mysterious Flamel, has to evade Snape and Filch after an enchanted book shrieks an alarm, and slips into a room containing the Mirror of Erised, which shows his parents and several of their ancestors. Harry becomes addicted to the Mirror's visions and is rescued by Professor Dumbledore, who explains that it shows what the viewer most desperately longs for. When the rest of the pupils return for the next term, Draco plays a prank on Neville, and Harry consoles Neville with a sweet. The collectible card wrapped with the sweet identifies Flamel as an alchemist. Hermione soon finds that he is a 665-year-old man who possesses the only known Philosopher's Stone, from which can be extracted an elixir of life. A few days later Harry notices Snape sneaking towards the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest. There he half-hears a furtive conversation about the Philosopher's Stone, in which Snape asks Professor Quirrell if he has found a way past the three-headed dog and menacingly tells Quirrell to decide whose side he is on. Harry concludes that Snape is trying to steal the Stone and Quirrell has helped prepare a series of defences for it, which was an almost fatal mistake. The three friends discover that Hagrid is raising a baby dragon, which is against wizard law, and arrange to smuggle it out of the country around midnight. Draco arrives, hoping to raise the alarm and get them into trouble, and goes to tell Professor McGonagall. Although Ron is bitten by the dragon and is sent to the infirmary, Harry and Hermione spirit the dragon safely away. However, they are caught, and Harry loses the Invisibility Cloak. As part of their punishment, Harry, Hermione, Draco, and Neville (who, trying to stop Harry and Hermione after hearing what Draco had been saying, had been caught by McGonagall as well) are compelled to help Hagrid to rescue a badly-injured unicorn in the Forbidden Forest. They split into two parties, and Harry and Draco find the unicorn dead, surrounded by its blood. A hooded figure crawls to the corpse and drinks the blood, while Draco screams and flees. The hooded figure moves towards Harry, who is knocked out by an agonising pain spreading from his scar. When Harry regains consciousness, the hooded figure has gone and a centaur, Firenze, offers to give him a ride back to the school. The centaur tells Harry that drinking a unicorn's blood will save the life of a mortally injured person, but at the price of having a cursed life from that moment on. Firenze suggests Voldemort drank the unicorn's blood to gain enough strength to make the elixir of life from the Philosopher's Stone, and regain full health by drinking that. On his return, Harry finds that someone has slipped the Invisibility Cloak under his sheets. A few weeks later, while relaxing after the end-of-session examinations, Harry suddenly wonders how something as illegal as a dragon's egg came into Hagrid's possession. The gamekeeper says he was given it by a hooded stranger who bought him several drinks and asked him how to get past the three-headed dog, which Hagrid admits is easy – music sends it to sleep. Realising that one of the Philosopher's Stone's defences is no longer secure, Harry goes to inform Professor Dumbledore, only to find that the headmaster has just left for an important meeting. Harry concludes that Snape faked the message that called Dumbledore away and will try to steal the Stone that night. Covered by the Invisibility Cloak, Harry and his two friends go to the three-headed dog's chamber, where Harry sends the beast to sleep by playing a flute given to him by Hagrid for Christmas. After lifting the trap-door, they encounter a series of obstacles, each of which requires special skills possessed by one of the three, and one of which requires Ron to sacrifice himself in a game of wizard's chess. In the final room Harry, now alone, finds Quirrell rather than Snape. Quirrell admits that he let in the troll that tried to kill Hermione on Halloween, and that he tried to kill Harry during the first Quidditch match but was knocked over by Hermione. Snape had been trying to protect Harry and suspected Quirrell. Quirrell serves Voldemort and, after failing to steal the Philosopher's Stone from Gringotts, allowed his master to possess him in order to improve their chances of success. However the only other object in the room is the Mirror of Erised, and Quirrell can see no sign of the Stone. At Voldemort's bidding, Quirrell forces Harry to stand in front of the Mirror. Harry feels the Stone drop into his pocket and tries to stall. Quirrell removes his turban, revealing the face of Voldemort on the back of his head. Voldemort/Quirrell tries to grab the Stone from Harry, but simply touching Harry causes Quirrell's flesh to burn. After further struggles Harry passes out. He awakes in the school hospital, where Professor Dumbledore tells him that he survived because his mother sacrificed her life to protect him, and Voldemort could not understand the power of such love. Voldemort left Quirrell to die, and is likely to return by some other means. Dumbledore had foreseen that the Mirror would show Voldemort/Quirrell only themselves making the elixir of life, as they wanted to use the Philosopher's Stone; Harry was able to see the Stone in the Mirror because he wanted to find it but not to use it. The Stone has now been destroyed. Harry returns to the Dursleys for the summer holiday, but does not tell them that under-age wizards are forbidden to use magic outside Hogwarts. After ten years, Harry became an eleven year-old boy. The Dursleys have kept the truth about Harry's parents from him, but it is revealed in the form of Rubeus Hagrid, who tells Harry that he is a wizard and has been accepted at Hogwarts for the autumn term. Harry takes the train to Hogwarts from King's Cross Station. On the train, Harry sits with and quickly befriends Ron Weasley; the two are also briefly visited by Neville Longbottom and Hermione Granger. Later on in the journey, Malfoy comes into Harry and Ron's compartment with his friends Crabbe and Goyle and introduces himself. After Ron laughs at Draco's name, Draco offers to help Harry distinguish the wrong sort of wizards, but Harry declines. Upon arrival, the Sorting Hat places Harry, Hermione, Neville and Ron into Gryffindor House, one of the school's four houses, while Draco and his cronies are placed in Slytherin. After a broom-mounted game to save Neville's Remembrall, Harry joins Gryffindor's Quidditch team as their youngest Seeker in over a century. Shortly after school begins, Harry and his friends hear that someone broke into a previously emptied vault at the wizarding bank, Gringotts. The mystery deepens when they discover a monstrous three-headed dog, Fluffy, who guards a trapdoor in the forbidden third floor passageway. On Halloween, a troll enters the castle and traps Hermione in one of the girls' lavatories. Harry and Ron rescue her, but are caught by Professor McGonagall. Hermione defends the boys and takes the blame, which results in the three becoming close friends. Harry's broom becomes jinxed during his first Quidditch match, nearly resulting in Harry falling from a great height. Hermione believes that Professor Snape has cursed the broom and distracts him by setting his robes on fire, allowing Harry to catch the Golden Snitch and win the game for Gryffindor. At Christmas, Harry receives his father's Invisibility Cloak from an unknown source. Later, he discovers the Mirror of Erised, a strange mirror that shows Harry surrounded by his parents and the extended family he never knew. Later, Harry learns that Nicolas Flamel is the maker of the Sorcerer's Stone, a stone that gives the owner eternal life. Harry sees Professor Snape interrogating Professor Quirrell about getting past Fluffy, seemingly confirming the suspicion that Snape is trying to steal the Philosopher's Stone in order to restore Lord Voldemort to power. The trio discover that Hagrid is hiding a dragon egg, which hatches; since dragon breeding is illegal, they convince Hagrid to send the dragon to live with others of its kind. Harry and Hermione are caught returning to their dormitories after sending Norbert off and are forced to serve detention with Hagrid in the Forbidden Forest. In the forest, Harry sees a hooded figure drink the blood of an injured unicorn. Firenze, a centaur, tells Harry that the hooded figure is Voldemort. Hagrid accidentally tells Harry, Ron, and Hermione how to get past Fluffy; and they rush to tell the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, what they know, only to find that he has been called away from the school. Convinced that Dumbledore's summons was a red herring to take him away while the Philosopher's Stone is stolen, the trio set out to reach the Stone first. They navigate a series of complex magical challenges set up by the school's faculty, and at the end of these challenges, Harry enters the inner chamber alone, only to find that it is the timid Professor Quirrell, not Snape, who is after the Stone. The final challenge protecting the Stone is the Mirror of Erised. Quirrell forces Harry to look into the mirror to discover where the Stone is hidden; and Harry successfully resists, and the Stone drops into his own pocket. Lord Voldemort reveals himself: he has possessed Quirrell and appears as a ghastly face on the back of Quirrell's head. Quirrell tries to attack Harry, but merely touching Harry proves to be agony for him. Voldemort flees and Quirrell dies as Dumbledore arrives back in time to save Harry. As Harry recovers, Dumbledore confirms that Lily had died while trying to protect Harry as an infant. Her pure, loving sacrifice provides her son with an ancient magical protection against Voldemort's lethal spells. Dumbledore also explains that the Philosopher's Stone has been destroyed to prevent Voldemort from ever using it. He then tells Harry that only those who wanted to find the Stone, but not use it, would be able to retrieve it from the mirror, which is why Harry could acquire it. When Harry asks Dumbledore why Voldemort attempted to kill him when he was an infant, Dumbledore promises to tell Harry when he is older. At the end-of-year feast, where Harry is welcomed as a hero. Dumbledore gives a few last-minute additions, granting enough points to Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville Longbottom for Gryffindor to win the House Cup, ending Slytherin's six-year reign as house champions.

Wolfcry

fantasy

The book starts off with Oliza relating her troubles in being heir to the throne of a divided nation. Though the avians and serpiente have put down their weapons, prejudice and hatred still run strong between the two kinds. Oliza's choice of mate will define which of the two is "preferred" in Wyvern's Court. The three obvious choices for Oliza's mate are a serpent dancer, Urban, a raven named Marus, and the preregrine falcon Nicias. After a fight breaks out in the serpent dancer's nest, Urban is found beaten in the avian part of the city. Oliza is abducted by lion mercenaries. Oliza manages to escape. Half-starved and exhausted, she roams the forest where she is eventually rescued by a female wolf shapeshifter who takes her to the local pack. One of the men in the pack speaks Oliza's language. He refuses to disclose what caused Betia's fleeing from the pack. Oliza meets with the leader and instantly notices the tension between him and his ambitious son and heir, Velyo. It is made clear that Velyo truly runs the pack. When Oliza gets tired he offers to escort her to her room, where he tries to rape her. She manages to run and meets up with Betia. The two of them flee from both the pack and the lion mercenaries. Betia manages to return to human form out of concern for Oliza. The two travel on towards Wyvern's Court when they are stopped by a band of mainly white-haired serpents, a fight erupts but abrubtly ends when the leader of the group noticed Oliza's Ahnleh necklace. The group identifies themselves as the Obsidian Guild, a band of mainly white vipers and serpiente outlaws. They have lived apart from the rest of serpent society and they still honor ancient laws such as Ahneh. In accordance with that law they agree to take in Betia and Oliza. At Oliza's request, the leader of the Obsidian Guild relates the story of the fallout between the two leaders of the Dasi. He tells her that Kiesha was Maeve's lover before Leben, who Maeve seduced in an attempt to keep him from destroying her people. Kiesha was distraught by what she saw as Maeve's betrayal, even though the white viper was forced to do it. She refused to forgive Maeve even after Leben left and Maeve was devastated. In an attempt to lessen some of the pain, she turned to Ahnmik, the dark opposite of Anhamirak, but also the god of sleep and numbness. Kiesha and the other serpents then exiled her for practicing black magic. Maeve was taken in by the Rsh, the lower priests and priestesses of the Dasi cult, she slowly regained the will to live and took a mate. Her descendants survive as the Obsidian Guild, and they are in no hurry to reconcile with the other serpiente. Oliza is stunned to learn of this and intrigued by the idea of Maeve and Kiesha as lovers. Later in the evening, the Guild tries to convince her to perform a melos dance, one of the more sensual ones usually not performed among serpiente dancers unless they have already chosen a mate. Oliza at first tries to decline but Betia convinces her by giving her a melos scarf, a symbol of praise and a request to dance. Incidentally, the threads on the melos are gold, which in serpiente culture indicates the bond between mates, though Oliza brushes that off as Betia's ignorance of her culture. The two are soon strong enough to travel and go to a pack of wolves led by Kalisa, who Oliza is familiar and friendly with. However, before they can join Kalisa's pack, they run into Velyo and Betia runs off in terror when she sees him. Oliza recalls his attempt to rape her and doesn't take long in becoming furious with him, especially because she now has a very good idea of why Betia became feral and wouldn't go near her old pack. In spite of who he is, Velyo takes Oliza to her parents, who explain that while they were worried they believed she had left of her own free will. A note was found in the palace, in Oliza's handwriting, saying that her responsibilities are too much and she doesn't want anyone to come looking for her if she leaves. Oliza now begins to really worry about the loss of her hawk form, and how avians will react once they find out their queen is no longer one of them. Oliza returns to Wyvern's Court to find that the three men who beat Urban have been given an insanely light punishment because her mother feared they would otherwise be turned into martyrs. Before she can deal with that, however, the leader of the Obsidian Guild escorts Betia into Wyvern's Court. Betia looks tired but is happy to see Oliza, speaking her name as the first word she has said since becoming feral. Oliza then postpones everything she has to do and takes Betia into the dancer's nest. There she notices Marus who, to her shock, appears to have moved in. Betia convinces her to dance a melos with the entire nest watching, after which they fall asleep curled up together. The next morning Urban apologizes to Oliza for being forward in courting her, saying he had no idea and then pointing at Betia with his eyes. Oliza is embarrassed and points out that she is in line for the throne, and a royal pair bond has to produce heirs. She then takes Betia to the market, where they have a shocking meeting with several avian merchants who are convinced that the three men convicted of harming Urban are not guilty. Oliza begins to understand why her mother was hesitant to punish them. Next in line for a meeting is Velyo, who takes one look at Oliza holding Betia's hand and hisses at her "I don't care what your preferences are, you're a royal heir to the throne. You need a king, Wyvern. Send her away." Oliza gets furious at him, but begins to question the exact nature of her relationship with Betia. She then goes to a meeting with the three convicts and leaves Betia in the library with Nicias and her cousin, Hai. The three men are a blatant example of the differences between serpiente and avians. Poiting out to Oliza that what serpiente see as careless flirting and a meaningless kiss is experienced as sexual assault by their avian alistairs and sisters. Oliza is deeply troubled by this because she finds herself able to understand their motivations for attacking Urban. She tells them she will not change their punishment and will talk with them later. After this she goes to the library to see Hai, who has offered to combine her falcon magic with Oliza's dormant powers of Anhamirak to bring back Oliza's wings. The spell succeeds and Oliza regains her hawk form, but as she reaches out to Hai to try to do the same for her cousin, the combination of their magics accidentally creates a sakkri'a'she. A vision of the future. Oliza can feel Nicias step in with his magic to keep the spell under control before she is lost in visions. In the first she speaks with her future self, who explains that after choosing Urban as a mate, he was killed within a day and Wyvern's Court ravaged by war. The next vision presents her with a furious Obsidian, who curses her and she flees into a new vision. Here she walks the market, and is told by a local that after she chose Marus as mate, the avians decided she preferred them and murdered out the entire dancers' nest. The woman also tells her that in this future Oliza was murdered, presumably by her avian aunt's mate, though officially it was suicide. She then sees her aunt, Sive, sitting on the throne and learning of Danica's death. In blind panic, Oliza asks the visions to find her a future where she finds love and takes a mate without it leading to war between her people. She then finds herself in what looks like Wyvern's Court, but it is riddled through with falcon magic. A young child by the name of Keyi runs around, continually saying that she wants "to chase the butterflies." A man approaches her, asking if she's been sent by Hai. Oliza says no and asks him what happened. She recognises him as a Burmese python of the Obsidian Guild, who she danced with one time while she was there. He explains that he became Oliza's mate, and they had a child together. Keyi's magic was too powerful to be controlled. She killed Oliza and the falcons came to put a stop to her. They murdered all the serpiente and avian adults, took their children back to the separate lands to educate them there and get them to start hating each other again, and left Keyi and her father in an illusion which is kept in place by Nicias and Hai as well as anyone else the falcons allowed to live. Keyi sees shadows of the people who once were, and chases imaginary butterflies and rainbows. Oliza is horrified and exits the vision. She finds herself on her knees in the library, the details of her visions already starting to fade. She starts crying and asks Nicias and Hai to leave her alone with Betia. She then tells Betia that she had a child, Betia responds by asking if she was in love. Oliza realizes that the problem in the last vision was that while she found love and took a mate, they weren't the same person. Betia kneels in front of her and tells her that she will never leave unless Oliza asks her to. They kiss, Oliza is hesitant at first, but then becomes sure of her feelings. Oliza goes to the courtyard and confronts the mercenaries, telling them she was the one who hired them to kidnap her, she just didn't remember it. Their leader confirms it. Oliza also remembers several hours that seemed to have been lost between her talking to Hai in the library the night before her kidnap, and her coming to her senses again elsewhere. She realizes that the dance she spun to calm herself down must have triggered the same visions she just experienced, with Hai's magic acting as a catalyst. Then she didn't remember because both her and Hai's powers have precious little control, but this time Nicias was there to keep the vision in check. The actual visions are already gone from her memory now, but the essence is still there, and she remembers what she has to do. She flies to the dancers' nest and pulls Betia aside. She then kneels in front of her and asks Betia to be her mate, Betia tells her wolves mate for life and Oliza answers that wyverns do so too. Betia accepts and Oliza asks Nicias and Urban to gather her people in the marketplace. There, she makes a speech explaining to them that they are not ready to become one again. She would be honored to lead them, but now is not the time for a wyvern to take the throne. She renounces her claim as Arami and heir to the Tuuli Thea and appoints her cousin, Salem, as the new Arami of the serpiente and her aunt Sive as the new heir to the Tuuli Thea of the avians. Her people are shocked, but willing to accept. Oliza's parents are accepting, though her mother tries to tell her that hope can do more than she gives it credit for. Oliza responds by saying that she knows she did the right thing, and that she will go to stay with friends and she'll be with her mate. Her parents are slightly shocked when Betia steps forward, but Zane gives them his blessing and tells Betia to look after his daughter. Oliza and Betia walk into the woods, on their way to the Obsidian Guild. They have a confrontation with Velyo who says Oliza only did everything so she could be with her "fling." Betia steps in and tells Oliza that Velyo has no idea what it means to sacrifice for his people. Velyo becomes furious and threatens her, but Oliza punches him and reminds him that as a half-cobra, she has full use of a cobra's deadly poison and could kill him in a few seconds. Velyo turns into wolf form and moves away with his tail between his legs. The book ends with Oliza and Betia falling asleep together in one of the tents of the Obsidian Guild, happy together.

Aeneid

fantasy

The Aeneid can be divided into two halves based on the disparate subject matter of Books 1–6 (Aeneas' journey to Latium in Italy) and Books 7–12 (the war in Latium). These two halves are commonly regarded as reflecting Virgil's ambition to rival Homer by treating both the Odyssey's wandering theme and the Iliads warfare themes. This is, however, a rough correspondence, the limitations of which should be borne in mind. Virgil begins his poem with a statement of his theme (Arma virumque cano ..., "I sing of arms and of a man ...") and an invocation to the Muse, falling some seven lines after the poem's inception: (Musa, mihi causas memora ..., "O Muse, recount to me the causes ..."). He then explains the reason for the principal conflict in the story: the resentment held by the goddess Juno against the Trojan people. This is consistent with her role throughout the Homeric epics. Also in the manner of Homer, the story proper begins in medias res, with the Trojan fleet in the eastern Mediterranean, heading in the direction of Italy. The fleet, led by Aeneas, is on a voyage to find a second home. It has been foretold that in Italy, he will give rise to a race both noble and courageous, a race which will become known to all nations. Juno is wrathful, because she had not been chosen in the judgment of Paris, and because her favorite city, Carthage, will be destroyed by Aeneas' descendants. Also, Ganymede, a Trojan prince, was chosen to be her husband Jupiter's cup bearer—replacing Juno's daughter Hebe. Juno proceeds to Aeolus, King of the Winds, and asks that he release the winds to stir up a storm in exchange for a bribe (Deiopea, the loveliest of all her sea nymphs, as a wife). Despite refusing her bribe, he agrees, and the storm devastates the fleet. Neptune takes notice: although he himself is no friend of the Trojans, he is infuriated by Juno's intrusion into his domain, and stills the winds and calms the waters, after making sure that Aeolus would not try again. The fleet takes shelter on the coast of Africa. There, Aeneas's mother, Venus, in the form of a hunting woman very similar to the goddess Diana, encourages him and tells him the history of the city. Eventually, Aeneas ventures in, and in the temple of Juno, seeks and gains the favor of Dido, Queen of Carthage, the city which has only recently been founded by refugees from Tyre and which will later become one of Rome's greatest imperial rivals and enemies. At a banquet given in the honour of the Trojans, Aeneas recounts sadly the events which occasioned the Trojans' fortuitous arrival. He begins the tale shortly after the events described in the Iliad. Crafty Ulysses devised a way for Greek warriors to gain entry into Troy by hiding in a large wooden horse. The Greeks pretended to sail away, leaving a man, Sinon, to tell the Trojans that the horse was an offering and that if it were taken into the city, the Trojans would be able to conquer Greece. The Trojan priest Laocoön, who had seen through the Greek plot and urged the horse's destruction, hurled his spear at the wooden horse. Just after, in what would be seen by the Trojans as punishment from the gods, Laocoön was suddenly grabbed and eaten, along with his two sons, by two giant sea snakes. So the Trojans brought the horse inside the fortified walls, and after nightfall the armed Greeks emerged and began to slaughter the city's inhabitants. Aeneas woke up and saw with horror what was happening to his beloved city. At first he tried to fight against the enemy, but soon he lost his comrades and was left alone to fend off tens of Greeks. Hector, the fallen Trojan prince, had told him in a dream to flee with his family. Aeneas tells of his escape with his son Ascanius and father Anchises after various omens (his son Ascanius' head catches fire without his being harmed, and then a shooting star), his wife Creusa having been separated from the others and subsequently killed in the general catastrophe. After getting outside Troy, he goes back for his wife. Her ghost appears before him and tells him that his destiny is to found Rome. He tells of how, rallying the other survivors, he built a fleet of ships and made landfall at various locations in the Mediterranean: Thrace, where they find the last remains of a fellow Trojan, Polydorus; The Strophades, where they encounter the Harpy Celaeno; Crete, which they believe to be the land where they are to build their city (but they are set straight by Apollo); and Buthrotum. This last city had been built in an attempt to replicate Troy. In Buthrotum, Aeneas met Andromache, the widow of Hector. She still laments for the loss of her valiant husband and beloved child. There, too, Aeneas saw and met Helenus, one of Priam's sons, who had the gift of prophecy. Through him, Aeneas learned the destiny laid out for him: he was divinely advised to seek out the land of Italy (also known as Ausonia or Hesperia), where his descendants would not only prosper, but in time rule the entire known world. In addition, Helenus also bade him go to the Sibyl in Cumae. Heading out into the open sea, Aeneas left Buthrotum, rounding Italy's cape and making his way towards Sicily (Trinacria). There, they are caught in the whirlpool of Charybdis and driven out to sea. Soon they come ashore at the land of the Cyclops. There they meet a Greek, Achaemenides, one of Ulysses' men, who had been left behind when his comrades escaped the cave of Polyphemus. They take Achaemenides onboard and narrowly escape Polyphemus. Shortly after these events, Anchises dies peacefully of old age. Meanwhile, Venus has her own plans. She goes to her son, Aeneas' half-brother Cupid, and tells him to imitate Ascanius. Disguised as such, he goes to Dido, and offers the gifts expected from a guest. With her motherly love revived in the presence of the boy, her heart is pierced and she falls in love with the boy and his father. During the banquet, Dido realizes that she has fallen madly in love with Aeneas, although she had previously sworn fidelity to the soul of her late husband, Sychaeus, who had been murdered by her brother Pygmalion. Juno seizes upon this opportunity to make a deal with Venus, Aeneas' mother, with the intention of distracting him from his destiny of founding a city in Italy. Aeneas is inclined to return Dido's love, and during a hunting expedition, a storm drives them into a cave in which Aeneas and Dido presumably have sex, an event that Dido takes to indicate a marriage between them. But when Jupiter sends Mercury to remind Aeneas of his duty, he has no choice but to part. Her heart broken, Dido commits suicide by stabbing herself upon a pyre with Aeneas' sword. Before dying, she predicts eternal strife between Aeneas's people and hers; "rise up from my bones, avenging spirit" (4.625, trans. Fitzgerald) is an obvious invocation to Hannibal. Looking back from the deck of his ship, Aeneas sees Dido's funeral pyre's smoke and knows its meaning only too clearly. However, destiny calls and the Trojan fleet sails on to Italy. Book 5 takes place on Sicily and centers on the funeral games that Aeneas organizes for the anniversary of his father's death. Aeneas and his men have left Carthage for Sicily where, one year after the death of his father, Aeneas organizes a nine-day anniversary which includes celebratory games–a boat race, a foot race, a boxing match, and a shooting contest. In all those contests, Aeneas is careful to reward winners and losers, showing his leadership qualities by not allowing for antagonism even after foul play. Afterward, Ascanius leads a military parade and demonstration, prefiguring Rome's future predilection for war. During those events (in which only men participate), Juno incites the womenfolk to burn the fleet and prevent them from ever reaching Italy, but her plan is thwarted when Ascanius and then Aeneas intervene. Aeneas prays to Jupiter to quench the fires, which the god does with a torrential rainstorm. An anxious Aeneas is comforted by a vision of his father, who tells him to go down to the underworld to receive a vision of his and Rome's future, which he will do in Book 6. In return for safe passage to Italy, the gods, by order of Jupiter, will receive one of Aeneas's men as sacrifice: Palinurus, who steers Aeneas's ship by night, falls overboard and is drowned. In Book 6, Aeneas, with the guidance of the Cumaean Sibyl, descends into the underworld through an opening at Cumae; there he speaks with the spirit of his father and is offered a prophetic vision of the destiny of Rome. Upon returning to the land of the living, Aeneas leads the Trojans to settle in the land of Latium, where he courts Lavinia, the daughter of king Latinus. Although Aeneas would have wished to avoid it, war eventually breaks out. Juno is heavily involved in causing this war—she convinces the Queen of Latium to demand that Lavinia be married to Turnus, the king of a local people, the Rutuli. Juno continues to stir up trouble, even summoning the Fury Alecto to ensure that a war takes place. Seeing the masses of Italians that Turnus has brought against him, Aeneas seeks help from the Tuscans, enemies of Turnus. He meets King Evander from Arcadia, whose son Pallas agrees to lead troops against the other Italians. Meanwhile, the Trojan camp is being attacked, and a midnight raid leads to the deaths of Nisus and his companion Euryalus, in one of the most emotional passages in the book. The gates, however, are defended until Aeneas returns with his Tuscan and Arcadian reinforcements. In the battling that follows, many heroes are killed—notably Pallas, who is killed by Turnus, and Mezentius, Turnus' close associate. The latter, who has inadvertently allowed his son to be killed while he himself fled, reproaches himself and faces Aeneas in single combat—an honourable but essentially futile pursuit. Another notable hero, Camilla, a sort of Amazon character, fights bravely but is eventually killed. She has been a virgin devoted to Diana and to her nation; the man who kills her is struck dead by Diana's sentinel Opis after doing so, even though he tries to escape. After this, single combat is proposed between Aeneas and Turnus, but Aeneas is so obviously superior that the Italians, urged on by Turnus's divine sister, Juturna, break the truce. Aeneas is injured, but returns to the battle shortly afterwards. Turnus and Aeneas dominate the battle on opposite wings, but when Aeneas makes a daring attack at the city of Latium (causing the queen of Latium to hang herself in despair), he forces Turnus into single combat once more. In a dramatic scene, Turnus's strength deserts him as he tries to hurl a rock, and he is struck by Aeneas's spear in the leg. As Turnus is begging on his knees for his life, the poem ends with Aeneas killing him in rage when he sees that Turnus is wearing the belt of his friend Pallas as a trophy.

Titus Alone

fantasy

The story follows Titus' journey in the world outside Gormenghast Castle, having left his home at the end of the second book. He bumbles through a desert for a time, then uses a canoe to row down the river, where the reader gets a surprise: although Gormenghast is a crumbling, medieval castle, Titus finds himself in a modern city. Skyscrapers tower, and the river itself is covered in pipes, canals, and fishermen. As he slips the painter on the canoe, he has his first encounter with two faceless, silent persons, ostensibly police officers. Later, Titus befriends a man named Muzzlehatch, who runs a zoo and drives a shark-shaped car. He meets and has an affair with Muzzlehatch's former lover, Juno. Titus walks down a crumbling highway, where he has an unpleasant encounter with a beggar that eats money. He even spends some time wandering around the Under-river, an underground city filled with outcasts, runaways, and derelicts. There (in yet another contrast to the antiquity of previous novels) someone informs us that 'Molusk' has just circled the moon, probably a kind of metal-plated satellite. Titus eventually is found in a state of fever by a woman named Cheeta, who is the daughter of a scientist who runs a light-bulb equipped factory filled with mysterious bad smells and who talks to his workers through a giant television set. Cheeta is described as a 'modern girl' with 'a new kind of beauty', who drives a helicopter. Titus lusts for her because he has spent all his life in a tight-laced Medieval castle, and Cheeta lives like science incarnate. Although Titus lusts for her body, he also tells her several times that he hates her and tells her to 'go home to your horde of vestal virgins and forget me as I shall forget you.' Cheeta is shocked because other men would give anything for her favor. She contrives an elaborate plan to lure him into the "Black House", to see 'a hundred bright inventions', and end their relationship on a high note. There, she attempts to recreate Gormenghast horrendously, but is foiled by Muzzlehatch, who dies in the effort. Muzzlehatch also manages to blow up Cheeta's father's factory as revenge for the murder of his animals. Titus flees and spends months wandering a wasteland alone, until he comes across a large rock that he knew from his childhood. Hearing the guns of Gormenghast saluting the missing Earl, he is confirmed in his knowledge that he is not insane and that the Castle exists. Tempted to return to his duties, he nevertheless confirms his desire for independence and once again strikes off alone, this time in a different direction.

Into the Land of the Unicorns

fantasy

Cara Diana Hunter and her grandmother, Ivy Morris, realize they were being followed on their way home from the library. They duck into a church, but their pursuer follows. Cara is terrified, but her grandmother seems to expect this. Ivy gives Cara her special amulet and instructs her to run to the top of the church tower. She tells Cara to find the Old One and tell her "the Wanderer is weary." In order to do so, she must wait until the stroke of twelve, and leap off the top of the church while clutching the amulet and say, "Luster, bring me home." Cara does, and ends up in a magical forest in a different world. This world is called Luster and it is the home of the unicorns. Cara makes several friends on her way to find the Old One, who is actually the Queen of the unicorns, in order to deliver her grandmother's message.

The Kingdom of Shadow

fantasy

After three years, Quov Tsin has calculated and collected the research left behind by Gregus Mazi to open the pathway to the lost city of Ureh. Tsin hires Kentril Dumon and his group of mercenaries to protect him on his journey in exchange for the lost riches left behind. Zayl attempts to scare away the mercenaries, but fails and becomes a captive to Kentril’s group as Ureh is reborn. While looking for treasure, the group is attacked by the ghosts of Ureh and led to the palace of Juris Khan. The mercenaries learn from Ureh’s leader of the city’s trapped existence and the betrayal of Gregus Mazi. Juris Khan requests the aid of Kentril and his group to help restore the city and complete their original goal. After the first task of Ureh’s restoration is accomplished, the nightmare of Ureh begins as one by one the mercenaries learn of Ureh’s dark secrets.

An Acceptable Time

fantasy

Happy to be away from her large family for a while, Polly O'Keefe is spending the autumn with her maternal grandparents, Dr. Kate Murry and Dr. Alex Murry, getting a better education from them in science than she would have received at home. Soon, however, surprising things start to happen, including the unexpected arrival of Zachary Gray, a charming but troubled college student whom Polly met in Greece and dated on Cyprus the year before (in A House Like a Lotus). Then, while walking near her grandparents' Connecticut home, Polly meets druids Karralys and Anaral and a warrior named Tav, all of whom lived in the area some three thousand years ago. She soon learns that she is not the first person from her time to meet the Murrys' Pre-Columbian neighbors. Bishop Nason Colubra, the brother of a family friend, Dr. Louise Colubra, has been investigating the hieroglyphs found on rocks in nearby, relics of Karralys' time. In doing so, he has also come into repeated contact with Anaral's tribe, the People of the Wind (a tribe that previously appeared in A Swiftly Tilting Planet). The retired bishop is initially reluctant to discuss this, having been met with his sister's skepticism in previous attempts. However, he feels responsible for exposing Polly to the potential dangers of a tesseract of intersecting periods of time. The Murrys and the Colubras try to protect Polly from being drawn into the past, but although she tries to obey their restrictions on her movements, she continues to encounter Anaral and the others. Karralys and Tav formerly lived in ancient Britain, but have since crossed the ocean and made their home with the People of the Wind. On Samhain, Polly feels a compulsion to visit the Murrys' indoor swimming pool, the modern location of a site considered sacred by Karralys and Anaral. Polly is suddenly transported to the past, where she learns that Tav wants to offer Polly in blood sacrifice in order to avert a drought. Already the People Across the Lake are conducting raids due to the privations of drought, and Tav wants to protect his adopted people. Karralys sends Polly home. Zachary, however, is intrigued when he learns that the odd people he has seen are from the ancient past. His heart, previously seen as damaged by rheumatic fever in the Austin family novel The Moon by Night, is now so weak that he does not expect to live much longer. On the slight possibility that the solution to his problem lies with the ancient druids, Zach rashly leads Polly back to the star-watching rock, a place where Polly found herself in the past once before. Polly and Zach are drawn through a time gate and trapped in ancient Connecticut, with neither the Murrys nor Louise Colubra there to help Polly out of a potentially fatal situation. Tav soon changes his mind about whether his goddess wants Polly to be sacrificed. Her primary danger is not from the People of the Wind, but from their neighbors across the lake, where the drought is more severe. The People Across the Lake conduct another raid, and leave behind two of their injured members as they withdraw. One of them, Klep, is expected to be his tribe's future leader. He develops an attachment to his healer, Anaral, and learns from Polly the concept of love. The other injured man, Brown Earth, persuades Zachary to cross the lake with him during the night. Tynak, the current leader of the People Across the Lake, promises to let the tribe's medicine man heal Zachary's heart if he helps bring Polly to them. Zach agrees. He participates in another raid, with Polly's capture as the goal. Polly tries to convince Zach that the People Across the Lake intend to sacrifice her for her blood, but he refuses to admit this. Polly escapes, but returns for Zachary's sake. Ultimately, Polly's spirit of self-sacrifice and love, accompanied by the timely return of rain on her captors' side of the lake, wins out as a better way to interact with the Divine than an offering of death. The two tribes agree to unite and help each other. Zachary repents his betrayal of Polly, and his heart is physically healed (at least in part) before they return to their own time. When they return Polly tells Zachary they shouldn't see each other any more.

Sebastian

fantasy

The incubus Sebastian is the bastard child of a succubus and the wizard Koltak. Being an incubus has not made his life easy. Forced to flee every city or town he settled in, he has never known a home. Until one day, his cousin, 15-year-old Glorianna Belladonna, creates a landscape where demons can live, called the 'Den of Iniquity'. It is a 'carnal carnival' filled with gambling, drinking, prostitution and demons. Shocked by her actions and her ability to create a landscape, the wizards and Landscapers question her. She simply responds, "Even demons need a home." The wizards attempt to lock her into her own garden, but fail. She is then declared rogue. Meanwhile, Sebastian, living in the Den of Iniquity and ignorant of the sacrifices his cousin has made for him, begins to tire of the life he lives, finding simply having sex with women no longer interesting. When he first stumbled into the Den when he was a 15 year old boy, he and his first and foremost friend Teaser, another incubus, prowled around the Den, using their abilities to entertain themselves. This life no longer holds any appeal. He yearns for love - and it appears in the form of Lynnea. She is a catalyst whose "heart wish" (a strong wish deeply embedded within her) delivered her to the Den. Her arrival brings about 'opportunity and change'.

Winds of Fate

fantasy

The first half of the book alternates between two plots; Herald Elspeth in Haven and Darkwind k'Sheyna in Hawkbrother territory near the Dhorisha Plains. Elspeth is now under the tutelage of Herald-Captain Kerowyn, who arrived in Valdemar during the events of By the Sword. Through Kerowyn's training she narrowly escapes an assassination attempt sent by Ancar of Hardorn, the usuper prince of the kingdom to the east. She is convinced Ancar will attack again and asks permission of the Queen and Council to go looking for mages, since Valdemar has no knowledge of true magic. They agree only after being pressured by the Companions, the horse-shaped beings who are the lifelong partners of the Heralds. Herald Skif goes with her as an escort. Meanwhile, the Hawkbrother clan k'Sheyna is in dire straits. While the clan was moving from their current location to a new one, the clan's Heartstone (a special object which acts as a well of power accessible to mages of the clan) went rogue and shattered. The Gate which connected the two locations failed, stranding half the clan in the new location. Several of the mages who were holding the Gate were killed or injured; many were traumatized. One of them, Songwind, changed his name to Darkwind, renounced the use of magic, and began living outside the Vale (the magically-protected area used as a home by Tayledras clans. His father pressures him to return to magic, but he refuses, fearing in part that he caused the Heartstone to fail. His real allies are a pair of gryphons, Treyvan and Hydona, mages themselves and advance scouts from Clan k'Leshya, the so-called Lost Clan. Lurking at the edges of k'Sheyna territory is the sinister mage Mornelithe Falconsbane, a creature who has changed his form to resemble a giant man-cat. Darkwind's father is an unwilling agent of his; Falconsbane caught and tortured him until he broke. Falconsbane has an obsessive hatred of gryphons and wishes to capture Treyvan, Hydona, or their two young children. Falconsbane's daughter Nyara escapes him and finds her way to Darkwind and the gryphons for protection, but she also is under his control. A young woman, Dawnfire, witnesses Falconsbane's attempt to take or subvert the gyphlets. She and her bond-bird try to drive him off, but she is killed and a lingering trace of her spirit is trapped in the bond-bird, which Falconsbane takes prisoner. Elspeth successfully resists her Companion Gwena's attempt to steer her along a predestinated path to greatness and looks for help among the Shin'a'in. Cryptic clues steer her to k'Sheyna territory, where she encounters Darkwind. After a tense meeting, he begins to believe that she could help him fight off Falconsbane. Skif is wary and suspicious, however. Dawnfire, trapped in her bird's body, arrives with the news that Ancar is planning to attack them. The Tayledras rightly deduce that this is simply a ruse to lead them away from the Heartstone and the gryphons. They try to ambush Falconsbane, but he is too strong for them; the Goddess herself intervenes to drive him away. At the story's conclusion, Darkwind's father has been freed from Falconsbane's control, and the outsiders have been accepted warily into the Hawkbrothers' trust. Dawnfire is chosen by the Goddess as her Avatar and becomes a spirit-being.

City of Sorcery

fantasy

The novel concerns the quest of Magdalen Lorne, the chief Terran operative on Darkover.

Belladonna

fantasy

Book ends with Belladonna making herself even more evil than the Eater of the World inside of the school that she had been kicked out of in the events of Sebastian. She traps the Eater of the World and somehow Michael finds a way to bring her back to the world.

Queste

fantasy

Queste takes Septimus, Jenna and Beetle in search of Nicko and Snorri, to bring them back from the past. They go to Marcellus Pye, who has remembered some information from his 500 year old memory and provides them with some notes from Nicko and Snorri. The notes say that they planned to travel to the House Of Foryx where all times meet, and there they expected to come back to their time. Jenna takes the notes back with her to the Palace. In the meantime, Merrin Meredith travels to the Castle in hope of destroying Septimus. He bumps into Jenna who drops all the notes of Nicko and Snorri, they fall into a puddle and get wet. Jenna goes to the The Manuscriptorium and asks Beetle to help her replace the notes. Beetle then takes her to the restoration specialist Ephaniah Grebe. Ephaniah is a half man-half rat being. He Restores the pages and binds them in to a book, but they still miss one piece, the center of the map to the House of Foryx. Merrin, in the meantime, takes the job of a scribe in the Manuscriptorium. There he meets the ghost of Tertius Fume, the first Chief Hermetic Scribe. Tertius makes him transfer the loyalty of the Thing (a creature he aquired from reciting words from a book written by Tertius Fume) to him and assures that he will send Septimus on the perilous Queste. Tertius Fume arrives at the Wizard Tower along with the ghosts of all the previous ExtraOrdinary Wizards and announces that they are about to draw the Questing stone. Septimus feels a Darkenesse inside the urn where the stone is kept and tells that a Thing is there to sabotage the draw. They escape the Wizard tower as Tertius Fume puts it under Siege. But Septimus takes the Questing stone from Hildegarde thinking it to be a SafeCharm as Hildegarde tells him. Marcia tells Septimus not to take SafeCharms or Charms from strangers, but Septimus doesn't regard Hildegarde as a stranger. Marcia disagrees with that just to contradict and blame him for taking the Questing Stone. We find out that Hildegarde was actually InHabited by Tertius Fume's Thing. Septimus, Jenna and Beetle start their journey to the House of Foryx. Ephaniah Grebe promises to get Morwenna Mould, the Witch Mother of the Wendron Witches to show them the Forest Way. Ephaniah promises Morwenna anything in exchange for showing Septimus, Jenna, and Beetle the Forest Way. Septimus and Beetle overhear the witches talking that the Witch Mother will ask for Jenna and Ullr (who tags along with Jenna while Snorri is 500 years in the past). They escape the Coven and go to Camp Heap. Sam Heap shows them the Forest Way. They eventually reach the House and find Ephaniah near it. He had found the last missing piece of the map but was possessed by the Thing. Septimus, Jenna and Beetle enter the House of Foryx, but accidentally all three of them go inside. There Septimus is taken inside a door by a girl named Talmar Ray Bell and Septimus finds himself face to face with Hotep-Ra, first ExtraOrdinary wizard. In the meantime Jenna and Beetle find Nicko and Snorri and all of them try to escape the House of Foryx. Just as they were about to leave, Marcia and Sarah arrive outside the house on Spit Fyre, so all of them are able to return to their own time.

Pools of Darkness

fantasy

The city of Phlan has vanished, and its citizens defend themselves from the minions of Bane. Adventurers Ren, Shal, and Tarl band together with the sorceress Evaine to stop them.

Ilse Witch

fantasy

It has been 130 years since the events of the Heritage of Shannara series, and the Free-born and the Federation are still at war. The story follows a quest organized by Walker Boh, the last surviving Druid. Thirty years ago, the Elven prince Kael Elessedil led an expedition in search of a legendary magic which was said to be the most ancient and powerful in the world. Thirty years later, Kael is found floating in the sea of the Blue Divide; a map is found with him, covered with mysterious symbols. Walker is the only man who can read them. But there is another: the Ilse Witch, a beautiful but twisted young woman who is as practiced in magic as Walker himself. She will stop at nothing to possess the map and the magic it leads to. To stop her, Walker must find the magic first. Thus begins the voyage of the sleek, swift airship, the Jerle Shannara. The company chosen by Walker must fly into the face of unknown terrors while the Ilse Witch and her dark allies pursue. This book marked a new era in the Shannara saga, for it was the first time that Brooks described the use of futuristic technology, including airships as well as robots and lasers from the Old World.

Taronga

fantasy

The book begins two years after the Last Days. Ben lives with a callous man named Greg, who uses Ben's powers, which he calls "the Call", to attract game for hunting. Ben feels guilty about leading the animals to their death but faces a beating from Greg if he does not comply. When he finally escapes, he promises not to use the Call again. He breaks this promise less than a day later when he is pursued by a man on horseback. Ben decides to return to Sydney, where he once lived with his parents. He travels first on foot, then by bike, using mountain roads to avoid local gang activity. He is joined by a stray dog. As he draws closer to his destination, he hears the Call of something wild and ferocious. When he reaches the city, he realizes that the Call is coming from Taronga Zoo. He then makes up his mind to travel to Taronga zoo to find out what creature could still be so wild and free. In Sydney, Ben is chased by a gang. The dog sacrifices itself to give Ben the opportunity to escape, but Ben is still captured. The gang takes Ben to Taronga Park Zoo, which houses another gang of survivors and is guarded by tigers and other predators. The gang wishes to break into the zoo and plans to use Ben as bait. Inside, Ben is almost attacked by two tigers, Raja and Ranee. He is saved by Ellie, an Aboriginal girl who is in charge of the big cats. She takes him to their leader, Molly, who allows Ben to stay after he proves that he can also round up and cage the cats. Ben quickly earns the trust of all of the animals except for Raja, the male tiger, who hates Ben for restricting his physical freedom. Although Ben originally sees Taronga as an ideal community, he soon discovers that Molly is a ruthless and selfish leader. When the Sydney gang tries to break into the zoo, Molly divulges her plan to burn Taronga to the ground before she lets another gang occupy it. Ben and Ellie decide to act. Ben convinces the rival gang that he wants to help them break in and they set a date for an ambush. During the next week, Ben and Ellie cut a hole in the outer fence and disguise it with ivy. On the day of the ambush, they set the animals free. The Sydney gang and the Taronga gang fight. Ben and Ellie are the only survivors. Ben once again swears that he will no longer use the Call. When he is cornered by Raja, he keeps that promise. But Raja does not attack him; instead, he gives Ben a playful swat. Raja and Ranee head towards the Blue Mountains and are followed by Ben and Ellie.

Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident

fantasy

Artemis Fowl II is the thirteen-year-old son of an Irish crime lord, Artemis Fowl I, and the fairy underworld considers him dangerous. After being falsely accused of supplying contraband to a goblin smuggling ring, Artemis and his bodyguard, Butler, defeat the culprit. In return, the fairies Captain Holly Short and Commander Julius Root of the Lower Elements Police assist the pair in rescuing Artemis' father, whom the Russian Mafia has held hostage. A goblin hit squad ambushes the rescue group, and the group shelters underneath an overhang. Realising that it is a trap, Butler pushes Holly and Artemis out as the overhang collapses. The rubble knocks Butler unconscious and traps him and Commander Root. Holly and Artemis free Root and Butler. Holly questions Artemis about his father and how he came to be so ruthless in the events of the previous book, and, in a rare moment of sincerity, Artemis admits he made a mistake, a sign of his moral development that continues through the series. Meanwhile, Briar Cudgeon ambushes and locks Foaly in the Operations Booth and disables LEP weapons, framing him as the mastermind behind the rebellion against the LEP and leaving the rescue group powerless to stop the goblins as they begin their attack. Foaly sends a text message to the rescue group, revealing that all weapons and communications are controlled by Opal Koboi. Artemis decides to take over Koboi Laboratories and return all weapons to the LEP, interrupting the rescue mission. Holly reveals that Foaly had a hunch that Mulch Diggums, the criminal and kleptomaniac dwarf who had been presumed dead after the Fowl Manor siege, was still alive and in Los Angeles. Knowing that he had broken into Koboi Laboratories before, they go to apprehend him once again. They then break into Koboi Laboratories through a hollow titanium foundation rod. Artemis manages to turn both the goblins and Koboi against Cudgeon. Cudgeon is killed when he is thrown into the open DNA cannon plasma feed which simultaneously blacks out Opal Koboi. The restored power activates DNA cannons in Police Plaza, neutralising all goblins there. However, Foaly is still trapped in the Operations Booth, as the LEP outside, commanded by Captain Trouble Kelp, still thinks he is to blame for the revolt. The rescuers then go to Murmansk and rescue Artemis Fowl I.

The Island of the Mighty

fantasy

Gwynedd in north Wales is ruled by Math, son of Mathonwy, whose feet must be held by a virgin at all times except while he is at war. Math's nephew Gilfaethwy is in love with Goewin, the current footholder, and Gilfaethwy's brother Gwydion tricks Math into going to war against Pryderi so Gilfaethwy can have access to her. Gwydion kills Pryderi, Prince of Dyfed, in single combat, and Gilfaethwy rapes Goewin. Math marries Goewin in compensation for her rape, and banishes Gwydion and Gilfaethwy, transforming them into a breeding pair of deer, then pigs, then wolves. After three years they are restored to human form and return. Math needs a new footholder, and Gwydion suggests his sister, Arianrhod, but when Math magically tests her virginity, she gives birth to two sons. One, Dylan, immediately takes to the sea. The other is raised by Gwydion, but Arianrhod swears that he will never have a name or arms unless she gives them to him, and refuses to do so. Gwydion tricks her into naming him Llew Llaw Gyffes (Llew Skilful Hand) and giving him arms. She then swears he will never have a wife of any race living on earth, so Gwydion and Math make him a beautiful wife from flowers, and name her Blodeuwedd ("Flowers"). Blodeuwedd falls in love with a passing hunter called Goronwy, and they plot to kill Llew. Blodewedd tricks Llew into revealing the means by which he can be killed, but when Goronwy attempts to do the deed, Llew escapes, though wounded, transformed into an eagle. Gwydion finds Llew and transforms him back into human form, and turns Blodeuwedd into an owl (Blodeuwedd, literally "Flower Face," means "Owl"). Goronwy offers to compensate Llew, but Llew insists on returning the blow that was struck against him. He kills Goronwy with his spear, which is thrown so hard it pierces him through the stone he is hiding behind.

Once Upon a Time in the North

fantasy

Lee Scoresby, a 24 year old young Texan aeronaut, and his dæmon, the jackrabbit Hester, make a rough landing in Novy Odense, a harbour town on an island in the White Sea, in Muscovy. After paying for the storage of their balloon, Lee and Hester make their way into town, where Lee notes with surprise the presence of bears: some working, some just loitering about. He enters a bar to get something to eat and drink, and falls into conversation with a local journalist, Oskar Siggurdson, who explains that an election for Mayor of Novy Odense will take place later in the week. Siggurdson tells Lee that the overwhelming favourite — not the incumbent mayor, but a man called Ivan Dimitrovich Poliakov — has as a central policy a campaign to deal with the bears which hang around the town. Oskar mentions that the bears, once a proud race, now rank as "worthless vagrants". Lee learns with amazement that these bears are intelligent, can speak, and make and wear their own armour, though laws make it illegal for the bears to wear their armour in Novy Odense. At this point Lee intervenes in a conflict elsewhere in the bar, preventing the barkeeper from beating a drunk Dutch captain called van Breda, who has a ship tied up in the harbour but does not have permission to load his cargo and leave. Lee and van Breda get thrown out of the bar. Lee finds lodgings at a boarding-house and meets some of the fellow-guests over the evening meal: a young librarian called Miss Lund, a photographer, and an economist called Mikhail Ivanovich Vassiliev. Lee and Vassilev attend a meeting at the town hall organised by the mayoral candidate Poliakov. Armed men in purple uniforms patrol the meeting: Lee takes them for customs officers. Vassilev corrects him, explaining that they are security men from Larsen Manganese, a large mining company that are in league with Poliakov. Vassilew mentions that they have a large gun they are looking to use in a riot situation, but their conversation is interrupted when Lee runs into Siggurdson. Siggurdson introduces him to Olga Poliakova, Poliakov's daughter. While he is initially attracted to her, Lee is put off by her lack of intelligence. Lee falls asleep and therefore misses Poliakov's speech, but once it is over Siggurdson insists on introducing Lee to the politician. Poliakov offers to employ Lee as a mercenary, to help him take care of a situation at the harbour. Lee is about to agree when he spots another of Poliakov's associates, a man Poliakov introduces as Pierre Morton. Lee recognises the man, whom he met using the name Pierre McConville. Lee met McConville while working for a rancher called Lloyd, who got into a boundary dispute with a neighbour. This neighbour hired McConville to kill Lloyd's men one by one, including Lloyd's nephew, Jimmy Partlett, who was shot dead in front of a number of witnesses. Only one of these witnesses was willing to tell the truth in court, and when McConville was acquitted by a corrupt jury he shot the witness dead in the street and rode out of town. He was rearrested and sent to the capital of the province with an armed escort, but vanished en route. Recognising Morton as this enemy from his past, Lee turns down Poliakov's offer of employment, and leaves. In the middle of the night, back at the boarding-house, Lee hears Miss Lund crying and asks the cause. Miss Lund cryptically asks for his advice on a matter of honour. Lee gives his advice as well as he can understand the situation, to Miss Lund's gratitude. Lee returns to his bed baffled about what has just happened, but Hester berates him, saying that Miss Lund has obviously received a proposal of marriage, and Lee advised her to accept. At breakfast the next morning Vassilev explains that Miss Lund has a sweetheart in the Customs Office. During their conversation, Lee realises that the situation that Poliakov wanted him to deal with is most likely connected to Captain van Breda. Lee heads down to the harbour to investigate. He runs into van Breda again, who has still not been allowed to load his cargo. The two men head to a bar for a drink. Lee learns that van Breda's cargo, mining equipment and rock samples, is being held on a legal technicality, and will be impounded and sold at auction unless he loads it by the next day. Unfortunately, van Breda is being prevented from loading his cargo. The captain insists that Poliakov is waiting for his cargo to be impounded and will then buy it at a low price at auction. Lee, disgusted by Poliakov's behaviour, offers to help break into the warehouse and stand guard while van Breda loads his cargo. van Breda gratefully accepts, and the two head for the harbour. On the pavement outside the bar Lee is waylaid by one of the bears, who introduces himself as Iorek Byrnison. Iorek also offers to help van Breda, in order to get back at Poliakov. Iorek puts on the only piece of armour he currently has - a battered helmet - and the group set off, attracting a large crowd of onlookers as they near the harbour. Talking his way past the Harbour Master, Lee stands off against a group of men guarding the warehouse. Lee shoots one of them in the hip, knocking him into the water. The other men pull him out and then scatter. At that point the Larsen Manganese men deploy the riot gun mentioned by Vassilev earlier, but before they can do anything with it Iorek overturns it and pushes it into the harbour. With Iorek's help, Lee breaks into the warehouse. Van Breda gives him the Winchester rifle kept on-board his boat, and Lee heads up the floors to deal with the two gunmen positioned up there. He shoots the first in the shoulder and gets into a firefight with the second. The wounded man tries to strangle Hester, but Lee shoots him dead. The remaining gunman turns out to be Morton, who manages to shoot Lee in the shoulder and ear. Taunting him with the story of how he killed his armed escorts — by tying one of them to the ground, binding his daemon to a horse and forcing the two apart to an unbearable distance, causing the man to die an agonising death — Morton moves in for the kill, his snake daemon advancing ahead of him. Hester pounces on Morton's daemon and drags it towards Lee, forcing Morton to come stumbling out of his hiding place in pain. Lee shoots him in the chest, declares this revenge for what happened to Jimmy Partlett, and then shoots him dead. Outside, Larsen Manganese security men led by Poliakov have surrounded the warehouse. Before they can do anything, a group of Customs officers led by Lieutenant Haugland arrive, disperse the soldiers and crowd, and arrest Lee. Van Breda leaves with his ship and cargo, insisting that Lee keep the rifle as a token of thanks. It emerges that this is the same rifle Lee has when he is killed in his final gunfight, thirty-five years later. Haugland takes Lee back to the depot where his balloon is stored. On the way he explains that there is little the Customs board will be able to do to punish Poliakov, but they are still grateful to Lee for acting as he did. His balloon has been provisioned and made ready for departure, with all his belongings brought from the boarding house. Iorek arrives, and tends to Lee's wounds using bloodmoss. Lee has lost part of his ear. Oskar Siggurdson also arrives, but Lee pushes him into the harbour rather than giving an interview. Lee prepares to leave, thanking Haugland for his help. Haugland says that he should thank Miss Lund, who has just agreed to become his fiancée. Vassilev comes running into the depot, warning them that Larsen Manganese men are on the way with orders to kill Lee and Iorek. Lee suggests the bear should escape with him on his balloon, and the armoured bear agrees, saying that the aeronaut is obviously a man of the Arctic. When Lee asks what he means, Iorek points to his daemon as an Arctic hare, much to Hester and Lee's surprise. The balloon then leaves and Lee, Hester and Iorek fly away together. The book ends with Lee remarking that he was amazed to learn Hester is a hare, to which she replies, "I always knew I had more class than a rabbit."

Maximum Ride: The Final Warning

fantasy

The story begins with Jeb, Max, the oldest of the siblings, and the Flock holding a funeral for Ari, Max’s half-brother and Jeb’s son. The next day they go to a private conference with the Danning Administration in Washington who are trying to decide what would be best for the Flock. The meeting does not go smoothly and ends with the Flock flying away to Dr. Martinez’s home where they are currently staying. But soon their short period of bliss is ended when they are forced to leave as an unexpected bomb in the form of a pizza arrives at their doorstep shortly after attending the government meeting. They flee to a safer place and there Max is thrown into a world of longing and confusion as Fang kisses her on a dock when they snuck out of their hotel during the night while everyone was asleep. Since Max runs from him, afraid to display her feelings, the atmosphere between the two grows cold and unfriendly. Then her mom, Dr. Martinez, calls them and tells them she has a surprise for them. The surprise is that they're going to go on a special mission – all the way to Antarctica, the point of the mission is to record data on how the world was changing due to pollution/global warming and how they could help stop it. After agreeing to take part in the mission, the flock meet up with a crew of environmentalists on the polar research vessel, The Wendy K. There, they meet an attractive 21 year old scientist named Brigid Dwyer, who immediately finds a liking in Fang. Max is getting even more jealous as Bridgid talks to Fang more. Certain members of the Flock gain more skills – Iggy can feel colors and see things if surrounded by white, Nudge can attract metal, Gazzy develops the ability to release almost toxic gas at will, Fang gains the ability to blend in with his surroundings and Angel gets yet another skill – she can change her appearance. And much to the group's surprise, Total, the talking dog the Flock rescued in Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment starts to grow wings! While in Antarctica, a member of the research team is attacked by a leopard seal and killed. However she was a mechanical impostor created by an unknown group of enemies attempting to capture the Flock. Meanwhile, Max and Fang’s relationship gets steadily more and more strained. The Flock faces big problems when Angel goes to find a baby penguin in the middle of a blizzard and they are captured by a mutated group of genetically enhanced humans. After being kidnapped, the Flock awakes in an office building located in Miami which has been evacuated due to the threat of a category 4 hurricane. The Flock faces the emotionless Uber-Director (who is described as having many of his internal organs connected via plastic "boxes" which his head sits upon). As they make an attempt to escape, they find themselves trapped by the Uber-Director's mutated body guard. When all hope seems lost, the windows to the skyscraper shatter due to the high speed winds, sucking the Flock, the Uber-Director, and his bodyguard into the eye of the hurricane where the Flock were the only ones that didn't free fall to the ground. After the events, the Flock returns to the home of Dr. Martinez where they are offered the opportunity to attend the Lerner School for Gifted Children (a.k.a. Ye Olde Academy for Mutants and Other Kids). As Max declines the offer, she and the Flock take off amidst the circle of reporters, ushering the fact that their existence and other genetic mutations have gone public.

Outcast

fantasy

At the beginning of the book, Hollypaw, Lionpaw, and Jaypaw, apprentices in ThunderClan, resume their daily lives after the events of Dark River. Jaypaw becomes obsessed with learning about cats who live by the lake before the Clans, whom he meets in the previous book during a time-travelling experience. Lionpaw continues training with Tigerstar, a dead evil cat, in his dreams. Hollypaw realizes she wants to become leader of her Clan one day. Each finds the idea of traveling to the mountains intriguing, and when cats from a group in the mountains called the Tribe of Rushing Water ask ThunderClan for help, they get their chance. ThunderClan finds out that the Tribe is harassed by a group of rogue cats who steal the Tribe's prey. It is revealed that Stormfur and Brook Where Small Fish Swim return to ThunderClan from the Tribe in Twilight because they are banished: Stormfur leads the Tribe into battle against the rogues, but cats die because the Tribe is not used to battling other cats. Brambleclaw, Squirrelflight, Tawnypelt, Crowfeather, Stormfur, Brook, Breezepaw, Jaypaw, Hollypaw, and Lionpaw journey to the mountains to help deal with the rogues. The Clan cats attempt to reason with the rogues and mark borders. The rogues ignore the borders, forcing the Tribe to take more drastic measures. The Clan cats teach the Tribe cats to fight. The Tribe is reluctant to fight at first, but manages to defeat the invaders. Meanwhile, Jaypaw continues to try to find out about the ancient cats' prophecy that refers to himself and his littermates: "There will be three, kin of your kin, who hold the powers of the stars in their paws". He learns that the Tribe originally lives by the lake and decides to tell his brother and sister about the prophecy at the end of the book.

The Face in the Abyss

fantasy

The novel concerns American mining engineer Nicholas Graydon. While searching for lost Inca treasure in South America, he encounters Suarra, handmaiden to the Snake Mother of Yu-Atlanchi. She leads Graydon to an abyss where Nimir, the Lord of Evil is imprisoned in a face of gold. While Graydon's companions are transformed by the face into globules of gold on account of their greed, he is saved by Suarra and the Snake Mother whom he joins in their struggle against Nimir.

The Harrowing of Gwynedd

fantasy

The plot of The Harrowing of Gwynedd spans seven months, from early January to early August 918. The novel begins as Father Joram MacRorie and his sister, Lady Evaine MacRorie Thuryn, discuss the recent death of their father, Camber MacRorie. As time passes and Camber's body shows no signs of decomposing, they are forced to consider the possibility that their father may not be truly dead. Evaine believes he attempted to work a final spell just before his death, but Joram wonders if Camber may truly be a saint. Throughout Gwynedd, the Deryni attempt to flee to safety as the Regents of young King Alroy Haldane continue their violent suppression of Deryni across the kingdom. Desperate for any slim chance to save even a few of their people, the Camberian Council begins making final preparations for a dangerous deception. They plan to develop a new religious cult, led by their ally Revan, which will preach the possibility of washing away a Deryni's powers through ceremonial baptism. By placing a Deryni Healer who is capable of blocking Deryni powers within the cult, the Council hopes to remove the powers of willing Deryni subjects, thereby protecting them from the wrath of the Regents and the Church. Meanwhile, in Valoret, the king's twin brother and heir, Prince Javan Haldane, strives to maintain the secret lines of communication with his Deryni allies. As Javan's own magical powers continue to grow and develop, he is well aware that the very powers he may need to survive may also result in his quick death if the Regents ever discover them. Nonetheless, he continues to funnel information to the Council and even assists Ansel MacRorie and Tavis O'Neill when they sneak in Valoret to block the faint Deryni powers of Ansel's immediate family. Over the following months, Javan's strengthening powers enable him to mentally probe and influence his squire, his brother, and even Archbishop Hubert MacInnis. To further keep the attention of the Regents away from him, Javan convinces Hubert that he has a growing religious vocation, allowing him greater access to the archbishop's mind. The Royal Court moves from Valoret to Rhemuth, and Revan sets out to start his baptizer cult after finishing his final preparations with the Camberian Council. Evaine and Joram reveal the truth about Camber's supposed death to Dom Queron Kinevan, enlisting his aid in their efforts to restore their father from his limbo state. Evaine succeeds in establishing regular contact with Javan in Rhemuth, but most her time is spent researching ancient Deryni lore with Joram and Queron. By early summer, Revan's baptizer cult is growing in size and popularity. To further convince Hubert that he is genuinely considering a religious life, Javan travels to Valoret to study with the archbishop. After Hubert's brother informs him of Revan's cult, the archbishop and the prince travel to the river to observe Revan's actions for themselves. Although two known Deryni are apparently stripped of their powers before their eyes, Hubert remains skeptical, even after both subjects are tested with merasha. Javan volunteers to submit to the ceremony, and proceeds to do so even after Hubert forbids him to do so. Hubert later has the prince flogged for his disobedience, but Javan once again uses his powers to manipulate Hubert's mind. Gambling that Hubert will not kill him as long as the archbishop believes he is serious about becoming a priest, Javan agrees to take temporary vows as a lay brother, hoping that a religious house will provide the protection and education he will need to survive until he comes of age. After several important breakthroughs and discoveries, Evaine finally feels ready to attempt to free her father. She makes final preparations for the ritual, then briefly visits Javan to provide him with the subconscious knowledge of his magical Haldane heritage. Two days later, as Javan formally makes his vows, Evaine, Joram, and Queron attempt to free Camber from his stasis. In a powerful and mystical ritual, Evaine briefly leaves the mortal plane and communes with several higher beings. She discovers that Camber failed to work his last spell properly, forever trapping him in a state between life and death. Realizing that she must sacrifice herself to free her father, Evaine pours her very life energy into her father's spell, shifting Camber's soul into a state in which he may freely cross the boundaries of life and death. When the process is completed, Queron can only watch helplessly as Evaine's soul departs her dying body.

Stork Naked

fantasy

Surprise summons the stork with Umlaut, only to discover with dismay that the stork refuses to deliver her baby due to a clerical error. Off on an adventure to find her child, she seeks the aid of Pyra, who wields a tool that can find, and enter, alternate realities. As Surprise and her entourage search for the correct world, the sinister mechanisms behind the whole adventure is revealed.

Od Magic

fantasy

The wizard Od, a giantess who travels mysteriously, accompanied by numerous injured animals, which she heals, saved the city of Kelior, founded a school of magic there, then disappeared into the wilderness. Hundreds of years later, she appears at Brenden Vetch's small farm, inviting him to study at her school to perfect the magic he wields over plants, and finds in them. After he makes the long journey to the city, Brenden discovers that Kelior, instead of being a bastion for learning and exploration, is fearful of unfettered magic; the king and his wizard Valoren Greye outlaw any new type of magic, which they see as a threat to Kelior's order and safety. They want magic to be subservient to their rulership. As Brenden acclimates to his strange environment, Princess Sulys attempts to come to terms with her engagement to Valoren, a man she scarcely knows, which engagement was arranged by her father. But Valoren, and her father, take her for granted, and won't listen to her. Among other things, she wants Valoren to know that she has some magical power. Instead of preparing for her upcoming wedding, she prefers to converse with Ceta Thiel, a historian writing about Od. Her discoveries about the wizard puzzle her and her lover, Yar Ayrwood, who works at Od's school. Yar ventures out of the school and into the city to learn more, unintentionally involving his curious student Elver. The wizard Valoren is too preoccupied to help with his wedding arrangements: Not only is Brenden proving to be an enigma, but a new magic-user, Tyramin, and his daughter Mistral have brought a magic show to the Twilight Quarter of the city. Believing these magicians to be dangerous, Valoren commands that Tyramin and Mistral are to be investigated. As the warden for the Twilight Quarter, Arneth Pyt has to obey Valoren's order, even as he falls in love with the mysterious Mistral. When the king and Valoren try to suppress these new magics, an uprising that they could never foresee forces change upon the static kingdom. Mistral asks the king to allow Tyramin to perform for the king in the palace. (Actually, Tyramin has been dead for some time, but Mistral has presented him by illusion at performances. Sulys gets serious about magic, and stands up to her father during the performance, arguing that the king and Valoren have not been paying attention to her, and that Mistral should be allowed to practice her magic within Kelior. Yar and Valoren return from a search for Brenden, combined with an investigation of mysterious rock-like beings in the far north, and the beings, and Brenden, come with them. Elver turns out to be Od, in disguise. Od says that she wants the school to continue, but without the restraints imposed by the king, which she has experienced as Elver. The king agrees, and magic becomes an art again, rather than a trade.

Ysabel

fantasy

Ned Marriner is in France with his father, Edward, a celebrated photographer who is working on a book about Provence. While his father shoots outside the deserted Saint-Sauveur Cathedral, Ned wanders in to look around. There he meets Kate Wenger, an American exchange student with a passion for ancient history and an extensive knowledge of the cathedral's past. The pair is startled by the appearance of a then-nameless man, who warns them to leave immediately, stating that they "have blundered into the corner of a very old story". Ned finds that he is able to sense the man's presence, a power of which he was previously unaware. Ned and Kate also notice an ancient carving of a woman on one of the church pillars, which the nameless man claims he created. Frightened by the incident, Ned and Kate make plans to meet a few days later. Ned goes on a photo-scouting mission with his father's assistants, Greg, Steve, and Melanie, a young woman who is hyper-organized, witty, and well liked by everyone, including Ned. They head towards Mont Sainte-Victoire, a much-photographed location made famous by Cezanne. But along the way, Ned falls suddenly and inexplicably ill. Arriving at the mountain, he is overcome by images of the slaughter that took place there centuries prior, when a Roman general killed thousands of Celts. He is rushed back to the team's villa, but once he has travelled only a short distance from the mountain, he recovers completely. Ned and Kate meet later that day in a coffee shop to discuss their situation. Ned is unnerved by the discovery of his strange abilities, while both are curious to find out more about the nameless man and his "story." Unaware that they are being watched by the nameless man, they make plans to meet again in Entremont, an ancient Celtic site, on the Eve of Beltaine. Kate leaves, but Ned becomes aware of the nameless man's presence and confronts him. The man tells him little, and soon leaves the cafe. Outside, however, he is attacked by unnaturally vicious dogs, and Ned steps in to defend him, saving his life. Ned meets his Aunt Kim, a woman with mysterious powers. She tells him that she sensed he was in trouble, and came at once to offer her help. He discovers that she has the same ability to "sense" the presence of those with power, which she claims "runs in the family." They are confronted by a second nameless man, a large Celt with antlers, and are again warned to stay out of the "story." The Celt plans to kill the nameless man from the cathedral (who he calls a "Roman"), and threatens Ned for having helped him, but Aunt Kim manages to bluff their way out of the situation. Despite Ned's misgivings, Kate, who is acting strangely, convinces him to follow their original plan of visiting Entremont on Beltaine. They plan to be away from the place before dark, but not long after they enter the site, darkness falls several hours early. They hide from a ghostly procession of druids that arrives soon after and becomes more solid as the light continues to fade. The nameless Roman from the cathedral confronts them, ordering them to flee as soon as they can. Kate begins to struggle, possessed with a strange desire to join the druidic ceremony below. Just before she escapes, however, Melanie arrives, looking for Ned. As she approaches the waiting Celts, she is transformed into Ysabel, possessed by the spirit of an ancient woman who the two nameless men have been fighting over for centuries. Ysabel names the Roman Phelan and the Celt Cadell, and orders them to spend three days searching for her. Whoever finds her first will win her. Ned and Kate discover that this is the "story": a battle between two men for one woman's love, which has been repeated in various incarnations throughout the millennia. Ned and Kate leave unnoticed, stricken by the loss of Melanie. He tells his father, Aunt Kim, Greg, and Steve everything that has happened, and also asks his mother, Meghan, to leave Sudan, where she is working with Doctors Without Borders, to be with them as they attempt to get Melanie back. Meghan and Kim, her sister, had a falling out when they were younger, and there are some strained moments once Meghan arrives and they attempt to work together and reconcile their differences. They are aided by Uncle Dave, Kim's husband, who also possesses special abilities and knowledge of the supernatural. Ned and his fellow searchers visit various historical sites in Provence over the following two days, trying to track down Ysabel's hiding place before Phelan or Cadell in the hopes that they will be able to rescue Melanie. Following a hint from one of the wild boars that are common throughout the South of France, Ned realizes that Ysabel is hiding on Mont Sainte-Victoire, the site where he experienced his mysterious illness. He decides to go there alone, as he is a marathon runner and will be able to reach the summit fastest. Despite feeling sick the entire way, Ned makes it to the summit before Phelan or Cadell, discovering Ysabel in a cavern that looks out over Provence. He demands that she release Melanie. Cadell and Phelan arrive shortly thereafter, both claiming the victory. Ysabel points out that it was Ned who arrived first, and reveals that Ned is distantly descended from the original Ysabel (who would have gone by a different name). Both Phelan and Cadell commit suicide by leaping from the mountain, for neither succeeded in reaching Ysabel first. When Ned looks at Ysabel again, he finds that she too has departed, leaving Melanie safe and unharmed in her place.

Sons of the Oak

fantasy

The book details the life of Fallion and his rise to power. When the Earth King, Gaborn val Orden dies, the nations mobilize to destroy his children, fearing they'll usurp power over the kingdoms. An army quickly arrives, led by the locus Asgaroth. Fallion, his brother, Jaz, and Rhianna, a girl they rescued from monsters called strengi-saats, flee with their mother and the family of Sir Borenson. Asgaroth eventually catches up with them but his host is slain by Fallion's mother, Iome. The exiles board a smuggler's ship and flee the Courts of Tide. Fallion befriends the captain and most of the crew—including a flameweaver they call Smoker. Smoker recognizes Fallion's power, calling him the torch bearer, and begins teaching him how to use his abilities. Eventually Fallion and Jaz are captured by the evil Runelord Shadoath, who is parasitized by the locus of the One True Master of Evil. She tortures them in order to win their loyalty, but they, along with Shadoath's daughter, are rescued by Myrrima and Smoker. Smoker transforms into a fire elemental, destroying the city where the children were being held captive and seriously wounding Shadaoth. Only her numerous endowments of stamina and brawn save her. During this, Rhianna is mistakenly presumed dead and left behind, where she becomes a Dedicate to the sea ape of Shadoath's son. Five years pass, and Fallion and Jaz grow older in the land of Landesfallen. Shadaoth eventually tracks them down, and finds the hidden lair of the Gwardeen, a group of child graak riders. Fallion realizes she is coming and leaves to look for her Dedicates. As she begins her assault on the Gwardeen base, Fallion locates her Dedicate Keep and wounds the sea ape while entering. Among the Dedicates is Rhianna, who he'd supposed dead. As the sea ape dies, she revives. Unable to slaughter so many innocents, Fallion awakens his powers as a flameweaver and Bright One. This destroys several loci residing in the innocent children Shadaoth has taken, including Asgaroth which had possessed Rhianna. When Shadoath realizes what has happened, she tries to flee back to the remnant of the One True World. Fallion follows her there, destroys Shadoath and injures the One True Master of Evil within her. The One True Master of Evil abandons Shadoath and escapes.

Kandide and the Secret of the Mists

fantasy

As the beginning of the story, all is well in the Kingdom of Calabiyau. King Toeyad, ruler of the Fée, a race of fairies, is benevolent and just, and the twelve clans of fairies live in relative peace. When the king dies, his teenage daughter, Kandide, is expected to ascend to the throne. While preparing for her coronation, one of Kandide’s wings is crushed. The Fée value beauty above all else and so, to prevent the disgrace of having an “Imperfect” take the throne, Kandide’s mother banishes her to the Veil of the Mists, a land to the East populated by treacherous creatures and imperfect Fée. Without a clear heir to the throne, Calabiyau is thrown into turmoil. Kandide’s mother is put in mortal danger and cruel Lady Aron threatens to take the throne. Kandide’s younger sister, Tara, and brother, Teren, are sent to find Kandide and bring her home in hopes that she can set everything right.

Prince Caspian

fantasy

While standing on a British railway station, awaiting their train to school after the summer holidays, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie are magically whisked away to a beach near an old and ruined castle. They come to realize the ruin is Cair Paravel, where they once ruled as the Kings and Queens of Narnia, and discover the treasure vault where Peter's sword and shield, Susan's bow and arrows, and Lucy's bottle of magical cordial and dagger are stored. Susan's horn for summoning help is missing, however, as she left it in the woods the day they returned to England after their first visit to Narnia. Although only a year has passed in England, many centuries have passed in Narnia. That same day, they intervene to rescue Trumpkin the dwarf from soldiers who have brought him to the ruins to drown him. Trumpkin tells the children that since their disappearance, a race of men called Telmarines have invaded Narnia, driving the Talking Beasts into the wilderness and pushing even their memory underground. Narnia is now ruled by King Miraz and his wife Queen Prunaprismia, but the rightful king is Miraz's young nephew, Prince Caspian, who has gained the support of the Old Narnians. Miraz had usurped the throne by killing his own brother, Caspian's father King Caspian IX. Miraz tolerated Caspian as heir until his own son was born. Prince Caspian, until that point ignorant of his uncle's evil deeds, escaped from Miraz's Castle with the aid of his tutor Doctor Cornelius, who had schooled him in the lore of Old Narnia, and who gives him in parting Queen Susan's horn. Caspian flees into the forest but is knocked unconscious when his horse bolts. He awakes in the den of a talking badger, Trufflehunter, and two dwarfs, Nikabrik and Trumpkin, who accept Caspian as their king. The badger and dwarves take Caspian to meet many creatures of Old Narnia. They gather for a council at midnight on Dancing Lawn. Doctor Cornelius arrives to warn them of the approach of King Miraz and his army; he urges them to flee to Aslan's How in the great woods near Cair Paravel. But the Telmarines follow the Narnians to the How, and after several skirmishes the Narnians appear close to defeat. At a second war council, they discuss whether to use Queen Susan's horn, and whether it will bring Aslan or the Kings and Queens of the golden age. Not knowing where help will arrive, they dispatch Pattertwig the Squirrel to Lantern Waste and Trumpkin to Cair Paravel, and it is then that Trumpkin is captured by the Telmarines and rescued by the Pevensies. Trumpkin and the Pevensies make their way to Caspian. They try to save time by travelling up Glasswater Creek, but lose their way. Lucy sees Aslan and wants to follow where he leads, but the others do not believe her and follow their original course, which becomes increasingly difficult. In the night, Aslan calls Lucy and tells her that she must awaken the others and insist that they follow her on Aslan's path. In the cold early hours of morning the others eventually obey. They begin to see Aslan's shadow, then Aslan himself. Aslan sends Peter, Edmund, and Trumpkin ahead to Aslan's How to deal with the treachery brewing there, and follows with Susan and Lucy, who see the wood come alive. Peter, Edmund, and Trumpkin enter Aslan's How; they overhear Nikabrik and his confederates, a Hag and a Wer-Wolf, trying to convince Caspian, Cornelius, and Trufflehunter to help them resurrect the White Witch in hopes of using her power to defeat Miraz. A fight ensues, and Nikabrik and his two friends are slain. Peter challenges Miraz to single combat; the army of the victor in this duel will be considered the victor in the war. Even though he has a stronger army and thus has more to lose by a duel, Miraz accepts the challenge, goaded by his two lords, Glozelle and Sopespian. After a stiff fight, Miraz falls. Glozelle and Sopespian cry that the Narnians have cheated and stabbed the King in the back while he was down. They command the Telmarine army to attack, and in the commotion that follows, Glozelle stabs Miraz in the back. The Living Wood is wakened by Aslan's arrival, and the Telmarines flee. Discovering themselves trapped at the Great River, where their bridge has been destroyed by forces of Narnia, the Telmarines surrender. Aslan gives the Telmarines a choice of staying in Narnia under Caspian or returning to Earth, their original home. After one volunteer disappears through the magic door created by Aslan, the Pevensies go through to reassure the other Telmarines, though Peter and Susan reveal to Edmund and Lucy that they are too old to return furthermore to Narnia. The Pevensies find themselves back at the railway station where the adventure began, just as the train to Susan and Lucy's boarding school pulls up into the station.

The Caverns of Kalte

fantasy

==Receptio

Little Fuzzy

fantasy

Jack Holloway, a sunstone miner, lives a solitary life in a wilderness area of planet Zarathustra. The planet is basically "owned" by the Chartered Zarathustra Corporation (under Victor Grego), which installed basic services and colonial outposts initially, and now reaps the benefits of new discoveries, such as the valuable sunstones. One day, Holloway returns to his little shack to discover a tiny humanoid, covered in golden fur. The little creature has armed itself with a chisel from his workbench, but is peaceful and mostly unafraid. The miner gives the "little fuzzy" (as he calls it) some Extee-Three, a kind of canned emergency ration cake, and the Fuzzy devours it greedily. It is soon apparent that the creature is highly intelligent, and he soon brings his family band to join "Pappy Jack" at the shack. Victor Grego soon tries to intervene, claiming that the Fuzzies are just animals, not sapients. If they were ruled sapient, the entire planet would be declared a protected aboriginal zone, and the Chartered Zarathustra Company would lose its exclusive rights to the resources there. Leonard Kellogg, one of Grego's staff, kills a Fuzzy and this leads to a court case which hinges on whether the Fuzzies are animals or sapients. After much discussion of what it means to be "sapient" (speech and fire use being one definition), the matter goes to court. In the midst of the proceedings, the Terran Navy commander reveals that his people have been studying Fuzzies, and that they can indeed speak. The tiny people use ultrasonic frequencies, which to human ears sound like "yeek." When processed with the proper electronics, the sounds are rendered as a complex language. The Navy experiments prove that Fuzzies have at least the mental capacity of a ten-year-old human, and are therefore protected under Terran law. Judge Pendarvis declares them to be aborigines, and the Charter of the Zarathustra Company is immediately invalidated. Kellogg has his worst fears confirmed; he killed a sapient being, not an animal. He commits suicide in his cell. The second book, Fuzzy Sapiens, deals with the new 'Charterless Zarathustra Company' and how it eventually begins to work with the new governor to ensure control over the planet. Victor Grego becomes the affiliate of a Fuzzy he names Diamond. It becomes clear that criminals are using the irregular status of the government and of the company to attack it and even to steal sunstones. The third book, Fuzzy Bones by William Tuning, suggests that the remarkable demand by all Fuzzies for the ration-pack 'Extraterrestrial Type Three' (aka 'ExTee 3' or 'estefee') does not fit with the composition of Zarathustran soil. A third significant Fuzzy character is developed called Starwatcher. Little Fuzzy, Diamond and Starwatcher become the clear leaders of the group in working with humans. Golden Dream fits with these three books in terms of the general plot and relationships. After these two official sequels, the original third book by Piper himself was found and of course this offers an alternative future.

High Wizardry

fantasy

When Dairine, Nita's younger sister, finds Nita's copy of the Wizard's manual, she then proceeds to take the Wizard's Oath. Dairine is given her Wizard's manual in the form of a computer, which Dairine nicknames "Spot." Dairine uses her new power to travel to Mars, then to the Crossings, where she is attacked by agents of the Lone Power. When she uses a worldgate to flee, assisted by an unnamed man she meets in a bar, she finds herself on a giant planet consisting entirely of silicon. In the meantime, Nita and Kit discover she is missing and chase after her. Dairine awakens the massive computer embedded in the planet and gets to work designing and naming 'mobiles' after the planet begins to create quicklife (computer-based) creatures. She names them in a variety of ways ranging from computer programs to Star Wars characters. When the Lone Power overshadows a mobile and attacks Dairine, Nita and Kit arrive in time to help her, assisted by the macaw Machu Picchu (Peach), who reveals herself as the One's Champion incarnate. With Peach's assistance, the Lone Power is defeated by stopping the universe from expanding. The resulting light that explodes as a result of this destroys the Lone Power. The Lone Power then returns to "home" with one of the Powers That Be. As he leaves, he tells Kit and Nita to destroy the "shadows" of him that remain. The universe continues to expand and Nita, Kit and Dairine return to their home, where Dairine's computer sprouts legs and follows her upstairs as Nita and Kit talk to their parents.

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court

fantasy

The novel is a satirical comedy that looks at 6th-Century England and its medieval culture through the eyes of Hank Morgan, a 19th-century resident of Hartford, Connecticut, who, after a blow to the head, awakens to find himself inexplicably transported back in time to early medieval England at the time of the legendary King Arthur. The fictional Mr. Morgan, who had an image of that time that had been colored over the years by romantic myths, takes on the task of analyzing the problems and sharing his knowledge from 1300 years in the future to modernize, Americanize, and improve the lives of the people. The story begins as a first person narrative in Warwick Castle, where a man details his recollection of a tale told to by an "interested stranger" who is personified as a knight through his simple language and familiarity with ancient armor. After a brief tale of Sir Launcelot of Camelot and his role in slaying two giants from the third-person narrative, the man named Hank Morgan enters and, after being given whiskey by the narrator, he is persuaded to reveal more of his story. Described through first-person narrative as a man familiar with the firearms and machinery trade, Hank is a man who had reached the level of superintendent due to his proficiency in firearms manufacturing, with two thousand subordinates. He describes the beginning of his tale by illustrating details of a disagreement with his subordinates, during which he sustained a head injury from a "crusher" to the head caused by a man named "Hercules" using a crowbar. After passing out from the blow, Hank describes waking up underneath an oak tree in a rural area of Camelot where a knight questions him for trespassing upon his land, and after establishing rapport, leads him towards Camelot castle. Upon recognizing that he has time-traveled to the sixth century, Hank realizes that he is the de facto smartest person on Earth, and with his knowledge he should soon be running things. Hank is ridiculed at King Arthur's court for his strange appearance and dress and is sentenced by King Arthur's court (particularly the magician Merlin) to burn at the stake on 22 June. By a stroke of luck, the date of the burning coincides with a historical solar eclipse in the year 528, of which Hank had learned in his earlier life. While in prison, he sends the boy Clarence to inform the King that he will blot out the sun if he is executed. Hank believes the current date to be 20 June; however, it is actually the 21st when he makes his threat, the day that the eclipse will occur at 12:03 p.m. When the King decides to burn him, the eclipse catches Hank by surprise. But he quickly uses it to his advantage and convinces the people that he caused the eclipse. He makes a bargain with the King, is released, and becomes the second most powerful person in the kingdom. Hank is given the position of principal minister to the King and is treated by all with the utmost fear and awe. His celebrity brings him to be known by a new title, elected by the people — "The Boss". However, he proclaims that his only income will be taken as a percentage of any increase in the kingdom's gross national product that he succeeds in creating for the state as Arthur's chief minister, which King Arthur sees as fair. Notwithstanding, the people fear him and he has his new title, Hank is still seen as somewhat of an equal. The people might grovel to him if he were a knight or some form of nobility, but without that, Hank faces problems from time to time, as he refuses to seek to join such ranks. After being made "the Boss", Hank learns about medieval practices and superstitions. Having superior knowledge, he is able to outdo the alleged sorcerers and miracle-working church officials. At one point, soon after the eclipse, people began gathering, hoping to see Hank perform another miracle. Merlin, jealous of Hank having replaced him both as the king's principal adviser and as the most powerful sorcerer of the realm, begins spreading rumors that Hank is a fake and cannot supply another miracle. Hank secretly manufactures gunpowder and a lightning rod, plants explosive charges in Merlin's tower, then places the lightning rod at the top and runs a wire to the explosive charges. He then announces (during a period when storms are frequent) that he will soon call down fire from heaven and destroy Merlin's tower, then challenges Merlin to use his sorcery to prevent it. Of course, Merlin's "incantations" fail utterly to prevent lightning striking the rod, triggering the explosive charges and leveling the tower, further diminishing Merlin's reputation. Hank Morgan, in his position as King's Minister, uses his authority and his modern knowledge to industrialize the country behind the back of the rest of the ruling class. His assistant is Clarence, a young boy he meets at court, whom he educates and gradually lets in on most of his secrets, and eventually comes to rely on heavily. Hank sets up secret schools, which teach modern ideas and modern English, thereby removing the new generation from medieval concepts, and secretly constructs hidden factories, which produce modern tools and weapons. He carefully selects the individuals he allows to enter his factories and schools, seeking to select only the most promising and least indoctrinated in medieval ideas, favoring selection of the young and malleable whenever possible. As Hank gradually adjusts to his new situation, he begins to attend medieval tournaments. A misunderstanding causes Sir Sagramore to challenge Hank to a duel to the death; the combat will take place when Sagramore returns from his quest for the Holy Grail. Hank accepts, and spends the next few years building up 19th-century infrastructure behind the nobility's back. At this point, he undertakes an adventure with a wandering girl named the Demoiselle Alisande a la Carteloise - nicknamed "Sandy" by Hank in short order - to save her royal "mistresses" being held captive by ogres. On the way, Hank struggles with the inconveniences of medieval plate armor, and also encounters Morgan le Fay. The "princesses", "ogres" and "castles" are all revealed to be actually pigs owned by peasant swineherds, although to Sandy they still appear as royalty. Hank buys the pigs from the peasants and the two leave. On the way back to Camelot, they find a travelling group of pilgrims headed for the Valley of Holiness. Another group of pilgrims, however, comes from that direction bearing the news that the valley's famous fountain has run dry. According to legend, long ago the fountain had gone dry before as soon as the monks of the valley's monastery built a bath with it; the bath was destroyed and the water instantly returned, but this time it has stopped with no clear cause. Hank is begged to restore the fountain, although Merlin is already trying. When Merlin fails, he claims that the fountain has been corrupted by a demon, and that it will never flow again. Hank, in order to look good, agrees that a demon has corrupted the fountain but also claims to be able to banish it; in reality, the "fountain" is simply leaking. He procures assistants from Camelot trained by himself, who bring along a pump and fireworks for special effects. They repair the fountain and Hank begins the "banishment" of the demon. At the end of several long German language phrases, he says "BGWJJILLIGKKK", which is simply a load of gibberish, but Merlin agrees with Hank that this is the name of the demon. The fountain restored, Hank goes on to debunk another magician who claims to be able to tell what any person in the world is doing, including King Arthur. However, Hank knows that the King is riding out to see the restored fountain, and not "resting from the chase" as the "false prophet" had foretold to the people. Hank correctly states that the King will arrive in the valley. Hank has an idea to travel amongst the poor disguised as a peasant to find out how they truly live. King Arthur joins him, but has extreme difficulty in acting like a peasant convincingly. Although Arthur is somewhat disillusioned about the national standard of life after hearing the story of a mother infected with smallpox, he still ends up getting Hank and himself hunted down by the members of a village after making several extremely erroneous remarks about agriculture. Although they are saved by a nobleman's entourage, the same nobleman later arrests them and sells them into slavery. Hank steals a piece of metal in London and uses it to create a makeshift lockpick. His plan is to free himself, the king, beat up their slave driver, and return to Camelot. However, before he can free the king, a man enters their quarters in the dark. Mistaking him for the slave driver, Hank rushes after him alone and starts a fight with him. They are both arrested. Although Hank lies his way out, in his absence the real slave driver has discovered Hank's escape. Since Hank was the most valuable slave — he was due to be sold the next day — the man becomes enraged and begins beating his other slaves, who fight back and kill him. All the slaves, including the king, will be hanged as soon as the missing one — Hank — is found. Hank is captured, but he and Arthur are rescued by a party of knights led by Lancelot, riding bicycles. Following this, the king becomes extremely bitter against slavery and vows to abolish it when they get free, much to Hank's delight. Sagramore returns from his quest, and fights Hank. Hank defeats him and seven others, including Galahad and Lancelot, using a lasso. When Merlin steals Hank's lasso, Sagramore returns to challenge him again. This time, Hank kills him with a revolver. He proceeds to challenge the knights of England to attack him en masse, which they do. After he kills nine more knights with his revolvers, the rest break and flee. The next day, Hank reveals his 19th century infrastructure to the country. With this fact he was called a wizard as he told Clarence to do so as well. Three years later, Hank has married Sandy and they have a baby. While asleep and dreaming, Hank says, "Hello-Central" — a reference to calling a 19th century telephone operator — and Sandy believes that the mystic phrase is a good name for the baby, and names it accordingly. However, the baby falls critically ill and Hank's doctors advise him to take his family overseas while the baby recovers. In reality, it is a ploy by the Catholic Church to get Hank out of the country, leaving the country without effective leadership. During the weeks that Hank is absent, Arthur discovers Guinevere's infidelity with Lancelot. This causes a war between Lancelot and Arthur, who is eventually killed by Sir Mordred. The church then publishes "The Interdict" which causes all people to break away from Hank and revolt. Hank meets with his good friend Clarence who informs him of the war thus far. As time goes on, Clarence gathers 52 young cadets, from ages 14 to 17, who are to fight against all of England. Hank's band fortifies itself in Merlin's Cave with a minefield, electric wire and Gatling guns. The Catholic Church sends an army of 30,000 knights to attack them, but the knights are slaughtered. However, Hank's men are now trapped in the cave by a wall of dead bodies. Hank attempts to go offer aid to any wounded, but is stabbed by the first man that they encounter. He is not seriously injured, but is bedridden. Disease begins to set in amongst them. One night, Clarence finds Merlin weaving a spell over Hank, proclaiming that he shall sleep for 1,300 years. Merlin begins laughing deliriously, but ends up electrocuting himself on one of the electric wires. Clarence and the others all apparently die from disease in the cave. More than a millennium later, the narrator finishes the manuscript and finds Hank on his deathbed having a dream about Sandy. He attempts to make one last "effect", but dies before he can finish it.

Treasure Hunters

fantasy

Thorn, the Bone cousins and Gran'ma Ben reach Atheia at last, and find the city crammed with refugees, creatures of all shapes and sizes who have survived the devastation of the valley. Thorn and Fone meet a young girl, Tanael, who gives Thorn a tiny prayer stone. Phoney and Smiley sneak Bartleby into the city in a hay wagon, while Phoney plots how to make money off the inhabitants of the old city. Later, Gran'ma Ben takes Thorn and the Bones to meet her teacher, an old and wise master of The Dreaming who runs a rooftop kitchen in the city. The Teacher tells them that the inner council who once watched over the city has been replaced with a group calling themselves the Vedu, The Order of the Dreaming Eye, who strongly oppose the Dragons and anyone who associates with them. The Teacher examines Tanael's prayer stone, noting it is engraved with the name Lunaria, Thorn's mother. Just then, the shadow of Briar appears around Fone Bone, beckoning Thorn towards her. Thorn walks towards the apparition in a trance, and it takes the strength of everyone to hold her back. The teacher warns that Thorn will be at risk in her dreams, and must be kept awake. Far away in the Eastern mountains, the real Briar plots with the Lord of the Locusts to attack Atheia. The human warriors of Pawa have joined forces with the Rat Creatures, forming an army larger and stronger than ever, and confident in the knowledge that the Dragons no longer defend the Old Kingdom. Meanwhile, a battered Kingdok lurks in an underground tunnel. Later, while lurking around the Atheian marketplace, Phoney and Fone Bone get into a tussle with a ferocious giant bee. The merchants thank the Bones for chasing the bee off, explaining how he and other bees frequently terrorizes the marketplace (in anger at the merchants selling water rations to the bees at hugely inflated prices). They offer the Bones gold to keep the bees away, and Phoney concocts a plan to gouge the merchants and the bees for his own profit. Meanwhile, Gran'ma Ben and the Teacher have kept Thorn awake all night to prevent Briar and the Locust getting to her through her dreams. The Teacher explains who is behind the movement against the Dragons; Tarsil, commander of the Royal Guard, has blamed them for the appearance of the Ghost Circles and ordered his soldiers to destroy any Dragon shrines. Tarsil, who was injured by the Dragons in his youth while leading an expedition into Tanen Gard, and who resents them still, is on the lookout for any allies of the Dragons, including Thorn and Gran'ma Ben. Before long, word reaches the Royal Guard that Thorn and Ben are in the city, and they conduct a search for them. Meanwhile, Tarsil himself meets with the head of the city's merchants guild to discuss the embargo the Royal Guard has imposed. Word soon reaches him of the presence of the crown princess Thorn, and he orders more men onto the streets to find her and put her to death. Meanwhile, Ted the bug brings Thorn word of activities outside the city; Lucius and the others are still alive, and will reach Atheia in two days' time, but Briar and her army will arrive sooner. Thorn also learns a little about her mother Queen Lunaria (nicknamed Moonwort). Gran'ma Ben tells Ted to carry a message back to Lucius and his army, planning to trap Briar, the Pawans and the Rat Creatures in a pincer movement. That night, Thorn, Ben and the rest of the resistance hold a rooftop meeting to plan for the forthcoming conflict, and to discuss Tarsil's oppression of Dragon lore. However, the meeting is cut short when Fone Bone rushes in to warn everyone that the Royal Guard are closing in on their meeting place. Hiding from the search party, another of Ben's former Teachers continues the meeting. He tells Thorn that she will soon be tested, and that the fate of the world rests upon her. He suggests taking her away from the old kingdom, as her presence is only worsening the situation. Fone Bone loses his temper with the Teacher, and lets slip about his and Thorn's journey inside a Ghost Circle. Thorn confirms the story, telling the Teacher how the spirit of her mother told her to seek the Crown of Horns. The revelation changes his attitude in an instant; the Crown, he explains, is the Dragons' deepest secret, an artifact that is the polar opposite of the Lord of the Locusts. He warns Thorn against finding it, predicting that if she, with a piece of the Locust inside her, were to come into contact with the Crown, it could destroy all existence. Meanwhile, Phoney Bone has found the city's treasury, and despite the danger sneaks out with Smiley to raid it. They are soon caught by the Royal Guard (which were tipped off by the same merchants who hired the Bones to chase off the bees), but as they are about to arrest the Bones, the gang of giant bees turns up due to one of the merchants announcing his selling of water and a ferocious tussle ensues. Gran'ma Ben hears the commotion and rushes to the scene to break the fight up, but the Bones have already been arrested and imprisoned. At the city wall, Thorn reveals her presence to one of the Royal Guard when he assaults Tanael for setting up a Dragon shrine. Though Thorn only scares off the lone guard, he soon returns with a troop to arrest her. However, it is too late; Briar and her vast army of Rat Creatures and Pawans (over 20,000) have arrived at the city's gates, and the battle for the Old Kingdom is about to begin. Up on top of the gate, Gran'ma Ben quietly whispers that they are not ready.

Somewhere in Time

fantasy

Richard Collier is a 36-year-old screenwriter who has been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor and has decided, after a coin flip, to spend his last days hanging around the Hotel del Coronado. Most of the novel represents a private journal he is continually updating throughout the story. He becomes obsessed with the photograph of a famous stage actress, Elise McKenna, who performed at the hotel in the 1890s. Through research, he learns that she never married, that she had an overprotective manager named William Fawcett Robinson, and that she seemed to have had a brief affair with a mysterious man while staying at this hotel in 1896. The more Richard learns, the more he becomes convinced that it is his destiny to travel back in time and become that mysterious man. Through research (see below), he develops a method of time travel that involves using his mind to transport himself into the past. After much struggle, he succeeds. At first, he experiences feelings of disorientation and constantly worries that he'll be drawn back to the present, but soon the feelings dissipate. He is unsure what to say to Elise when he finally does meet her, but to his surprise she immediately asks, "Is it you?" (She later explains that two psychics told her she would meet a mysterious man at that exact time and place.) Without telling her where (or, rather, when) he comes from, he pursues a relationship with her, while struggling to adapt himself to the conventions of the time. Inexplicably, his daily headaches are gone, and he believes that his memory of having come from the future will ultimately disappear. But Robinson, who assumes that Richard is simply after Elise's wealth, hires two men to abduct Richard and leave him in a shed while Elise departs on a train. Richard manages to escape and make his way back to the hotel, where he finds that Elise never left. They go to a hotel room and passionately make love. In the middle of the night, Richard leaves the room and bumps into Robinson. After a brief physical struggle, Richard quickly runs back into the room, and he casually picks a coin out of his pocket. Realizing too late that it is a 1970s coin, the sight of it pushes him back to the present. At the end of the book, we find out that Richard died soon after. A doctor claims that the time-traveling experience occurred only in Richard's mind, the desperate fantasy of a dying man, but Richard's brother, who has chosen to publish the journal, is not completely convinced.

Sinner

fantasy

The land of Tencendor has experienced an era of peace in the forty years since the Starman Axis defeated Gorgrael and united the peoples of Tencendor. Eventually Axis chooses to leave the mortal world with his wife Azhure, leaving his son Caelum to rule as the Starson. However, Caelum is a less than perfect ruler; insecure, arrogant and untried in this era of peace he struggles to maintain the balance between the various provinces as racial tensions rise. Matters worsen when Caelum finds himself engaging in an affair with his sister Riverstar, who eventually becomes pregnant and threatens to blackmail her brother with this fact. In a rage, Caelum then murders his sister and implicates his unpopular brother Drago with the crime. However, this Caelum's crime is not revealed until the third book, Crusader. The majority of the novel is narrated from Drago's perspective. Much of it focuses upon the fact that he has been literally stripped of his Icarii heritage - he is mortal. His is growing old, and weak, and the extent of his Icarii powers amount to making the bread rise. Azhure and Axis distrusted him because of the crime that he committed while an infant, a crime that he cannot even remember committing (allowing the antagonist of the Axis series, Gorgrael, to kidnap his brother, Caelum). The full details of Caelum's relationship with his sister is not fully unveiled until the third book, as "first blood", i.e., brother, sister, father, mother, are forbidden. However, Drago is an unpopular fellow, and when the finger is pointed at him, none are too surprised and have no problem in heaping the blame upon him. What actually transpired was that Drago walked in upon Caelum murdering his sister. Caelum instead, imposes a memory block upon Drago, and creates a false recollection of him brutally murdering his sister. The ancient and deadly WolfStar also returns to the world of Tencendor; seeking to cause the rebirth of his lover Niah within a powerful body. He selects Zenith as the perfect host, displacing her soul and replacing it with Niah's. However, WolfStar is not the only one to return; the newly empowered Faraday arrives and aids Zenith in expelling both Niah's soul and WolfStar's child from her body. Zenith finds Wolfstar, who is her biological grandfather, revolting, as she is constantly assaulted by images of the past whenever he is near, a rather unpleasant sensation which eventually causes her to lose control of her own body to her former incarnation. In order to escape punishment Drago flees with the help of his sister Zenith until he leaves the world through the Star Gate. However, Wolfstar pursues Drago. Meanwhile not all is calm in the North, Zared, Axis' mortal younger brother (they share the same mother, Rivkah) and ruler of the northern province has illegally eloped with Princess Leagh, sister to the sterile ruler of the western province. Proceeding from this Zared names himself King of Achar; an action which the other rulers view both as treason and a resurrection of the Acharites xenophobic past. Meanwhile Drago discovers an odd oasis in the universe outside the Star Gate, containing an insane Icarii woman, many children with the likeness of hawks and five dark and dangerous beings known as the Timekeepers who offer great power. This promise proves false however, when they steal Drago's life force and use it to shatter the Star Gate and destroy most of the world's magic in the process.

The Adventures of Pinocchio

fantasy

The story begins in Tuscany. A carpenter has found a block of pinewood which he plans to carve into a leg for his table. When he begins, however, the log shouts out, "Don't strike me too hard!" Frightened by the talking log, the carpenter, Antonio or Master Cherry as he is called does not know what to do until his neighbor Geppetto, known for disliking children, drops by looking for a piece of wood to build a marionette. Seeing a perfect opportunity, Antonio gives the block to Geppetto. Geppetto is extremely poor and plans to make a living as a puppeteer. He carves the block into a boy and names him "Pinocchio". As soon as Pinocchio's nose has been carved, it begins to grow longer and longer before Geppetto is finished with him. After the puppet is finished, Geppetto teaches him to walk and Pinocchio runs out the door and away into the town. He is caught by a Carabiniere but when people say that Geppetto dislikes children, the carabineer assumes that Pinocchio has been mistreated and imprisons Geppetto. Pinocchio heads back to Geppetto's house and encounters The Talking Cricket who has lived in the house for over a century. It tells him that boys who do not obey their parents grow up to be donkeys. Pinocchio throws a hammer at the cricket and accidentally kills it. Unable to find food in the house, Pinocchio ventures to a neighbor's house to beg for food and the annoyed neighbor pours a basin of water on him. Pinocchio returns home freezing and tries to warm himself by placing his feet upon the stove. The next morning he wakes to find that his feet have burnt off. Geppetto, who has been released from jail and has three pears for a meal, makes his son a new pair of feet. In gratitude, Pinocchio promises to go to school. Since Geppetto has no money to buy school books, he sells his only coat. Pinocchio heads off to school, but on the way he is distracted by some music and crowds and he follows the sounds until he finds himself in a crowd of people, all congregated to see the Great Marionette Theater. Pinocchio sells his school books for tickets to the show. During the performance, the puppets Harlequin, Punch, and Signora Rosaura see Pinocchio and cry out, "It is our brother Pinocchio!" The audience grows angry, and the theater director, Mangiafuoco, comes out to see what is going on. Upset, he decides to use Pinocchio as firewood to cook his dinner. Pinocchio pleads to be saved and Mangiafuoco gives in. When he learns about Pinocchio's poor father, he gives the marionette five gold pieces for Geppetto. As Pinocchio heads home to give the coins to his father, he meets a fox and a cat who convince him that if he plants his coins in the Field of Miracles, outside the city of Catchfools, then they will grow into a tree with a thousand gold coins, or perhaps two thousand. Pinocchio heads off on a journey to Catchfools with the Cat and Fox. On the way, they stop at the Inn of the Red Crayfish, where the Fox and Cat gorge themselves on food at Pinocchio's expense. The fox and cat take off ahead of Pinocchio and disguise themselves as bandits while Pinocchio continues on toward Catchfools. The ghost of the Talking Cricket appears, telling him to go home and give the coins to his father but Pinocchio ignores him. As he passes through the forest, the disguised Cat and Fox jump out and try to rob Pinocchio, who hides the money in his mouth. In the struggle that follows Pinocchio bites the Cat's hand off and escapes deeper into the forest where he sees a white house ahead. Stopping to knock on the door, he is greeted by a young Fairy with Turquoise Hair, who says she is dead and waiting to be taken. However, as he speaks to her, the bandits catch him and hang him in a tree. After a while the Fox and Cat get tired of waiting for the marionette to suffocate and leave. The Blue-haired Fairy sends a falcon and a poodle to rescue Pinocchio, and she calls in three famous doctors to tell her if Pinocchio is dead. The first two (an owl and a crow) are uncertain, but the third—the Talking Cricket that Pinocchio presumably killed earlier—knows that Pinocchio is fine and tells the marionette that he has been disobedient and hurt his father. The Blue-haired Fairy tries to make Pinocchio take medicine, saying he will soon die if he doesn't, but he refuses to take it, despite promising to if he is given sugar, which the Blue-haired Fairy gives him. However Four Black Rabbits then enter the room with a coffin and tell Pinocchio they have come to take him away, as he will be dead soon. Pinocchio takes the medicine and the rabbits leave. The Blue-haired Fairy asks Pinocchio what happened and he tells her. She then asks him where the gold coins are. Pinocchio lies, saying he has lost them. As he utters this lie (and more) his nose begins to grow until it is so long he cannot turn around in the room. The Fairy explains to Pinocchio that it is his lies that are making his nose grow long, then calls in a flock of woodpeckers to chisel down his nose. Pinocchio and the Blue-haired Fairy decide to become brother and sister, and the Fairy sends for Geppetto to come live with them in the forest. Pinocchio heads out to meet his father, but on the way he meets the fox and cat again (whom he had not recognized as the bandits, even though he has a hint from the cat's bandaged front paw—which he had bitten earlier; the fox tells him the cat had shown mistaken kindness to a wolf). They remind Pinocchio of the Field of Miracles, and finally he agrees to go with them and plant his gold. After half a day's journey, they reach the city of Catchfools. Everyone in the town has done something exceedingly foolish and now suffers as a result. When they reach the "Field of Miracles", Pinocchio buries his gold then runs off to wait the twenty minutes it will take for his gold to grow. After twenty minutes he returns, only to find no tree and—even worse—no gold coins. Realizing what has happened from a bird, he goes to Catchfools and tells the judge, an old Gorilla, about the fox and cat. The judge (as is the custom in Catchfools) sends Pinocchio to prison for his foolishness for four months. While he is in prison, however, the emperor of Catchfools declares a celebration, and all prisoners are set free. As Pinocchio heads back to the forest, he finds an enormous serpent with a smoking tail blocking the way. After some confusion, he asks the serpent to move, but the serpent remains completely still. Concluding that it is dead, Pinocchio begins to step over it, but the serpent suddenly rises up and hisses at the marionette, toppling him over onto his head. Struck by Pinocchio's fright and comical position, the snake laughs so hard, it bursts an artery and dies. While sneaking into a farmer's yard to take some grapes, Pinocchio is caught in a weasel trap. He asks a bird to help him, but it refuses after hearing Pinocchio was planning to steal grapes. When the farmer comes out and finds Pinocchio, he ties him up in a doghouse to guard his chicken coop. That night, a group of weasels come and tell Pinocchio that they had made a deal with former watchdog Melampo to let them raid the chicken coop if he could have a chicken. Pinocchio says he wants two chickens, so the weasels agree and go into the henhouse. Pinocchio then locks the door and barks loudly. The farmer gets the weasels and frees Pinocchio as a reward. Pinocchio comes to where the cottage was and finds nothing but a gravestone. Believing the Blue-haired Fairy died from sorrow, he weeps until a friendly pigeon offers to give him a ride to the seashore, where Geppetto is building a boat to go out and search for Pinocchio. They fly to the seashore and Pinocchio sees Geppetto out in a boat. The puppet leaps into the water and tries to swim to Geppetto, but the waves are too rough and Pinocchio is washed underwater as Geppetto is swallowed by a terrible shark. A kindly dolphin gives Pinocchio a ride to the nearest island, which is the Island of Busy Bees. Everyone is working and no one will give Pinocchio any food as long as he will not help them. He finally offers to carry a lady's jug home in return for food and water. When they get to the house, Pinocchio recognizes the lady as the Blue-haired Fairy, now miraculously old enough to be his mother. She says she will act as Pinocchio's mother and Pinocchio will begin going to school. She hints that if Pinocchio does well in school he will become a real boy. Pinocchio starts school the next day and after showing his determination becomes a friend to all the schoolboys. A while later a group of boys trick Pinocchio into playing hookey by saying they saw a large whale at the beach. Hoping that it is the shark that swallowed Geppetto, he accompanies them to the beach only to find he has been fooled. He begins fighting with the boys and one boy grabs a schoolbook of Pinocchio's and throws it at him. The marionette ducks and the book hits another boy named Eugene, who is knocked out. The other boys flee while Pinocchio tries to revive Eugene. Then two policemen come up and accuse Pinocchio of injuring Eugene. Before he can explain, the policemen grab him to take him to jail—but he escapes and is chased into the sea by the police dog. The dog starts to drown and Pinocchio saves him. The dog is grateful and promises to be Pinocchio's friend. Pinocchio happily starts swimming to shore. Then The Green Fisherman catches Pinocchio in his net and starts to eat the fish, saying Pinocchio must be a very special fish. Taking off the marionette's clothes and covering him with flour, the ogre prepares to eat Pinocchio. The police dog then comes in and rescues Pinocchio from the ogre. On the way home, Pinocchio stops at a man's house and asks about Eugene. The man says Eugene is fine, but that Pinocchio must be a truant. Pinocchio says that he is always truthful and obedient. Again his nose grows longer and Pinocchio immediately tells the truth about himself, causing the nose to shrink back to normal. Pinocchio gets home in the middle of the night. He knocks on the door and a snail opens the third-story window. Pinocchio pleads to be let in and the snail says he will come down. Since a snail is slow, it takes all night for the snail to come down and let Pinocchio in. By the time the snail comes down Pinocchio has banged his foot against the door and gotten stuck. The snail brings Pinocchio artificial food and the marionette faints. When he wakes, he is on the couch and the Fairy says she will give him another chance. Pinocchio does excellently in school and passes with high honors. The Fairy promises that Pinocchio will be a real boy next day and says he should invite all his friends to a party. He goes to invite everyone, but he is sidetracked when he meets a boy named Romeo—nicknamed Lampwick because he is so tall and skinny. Lampwick is about to go to a place called Toyland, where everyone plays all day and never works. Pinocchio goes along with him and they have a wonderful time in the land of Play—until one morning Pinocchio awakes with donkey ears. A Squirrel tells him that boys who do nothing but play and never work always grow into donkeys. Within a short while Pinocchio has become a donkey. He is sold to a circus and is trained to do all kinds of tricks. Then one night in the circus he falls and sprains his leg. The circus owner sells the donkey to a man who wants to skin him and make a drum. The man throws the donkey into the sea to drown him—and brings up a living wooden boy. Pinocchio explains that the fish ate all the donkey skin off of him and he is now a marionette again. Pinocchio dives back into the water and swims out to sea—when he is swallowed by The Terrible Shark. Inside the shark Pinocchio meets a tuna who is resigned to the fate and just says they will have to wait to be digested. Pinocchio sees a light from far off and he follows the light. At the other end is Geppetto, who had been living on a ship that was also in the shark. Pinocchio and Geppetto and the tuna manage to get out from inside the shark and Pinocchio heroically attempts to swim with Geppetto to shore, which turns out to be too far; however, the tuna rescues them and brings them to shore. Pinocchio and Geppetto try to find a place to stay. They pass two beggars, who are the Fox and the Cat. The Cat is, ironically, really blind now, and the fox is actually lame, tailless (having sold his tail for money) and mangy. They plead for food or money, but Pinocchio will give them nothing. They arrive at a small house, and living there is the Talking Cricket, who says they can stay. Pinocchio gets a job doing work for a farmer, whose donkey is dying. Pinocchio recognizes the donkey as Lampwick. Pinocchio mourns over Lampwick's dead body and the farmer is perplexed as to why. Pinocchio says that Lampwick was his friend and they went to school together, causing Farmer John to be even more confused. After long months of working for the farmer and supporting the ailing Geppetto he goes to town with what money he has saved (40 pennies to be exact) to buy himself a new suit. He meets the snail, who tells him that the Blue-haired Fairy is ill and needs money. Pinocchio instantly gives the snail all the money he has, promising that he will help his mother as much as he is helping his father. That night, he dreams he is visited by the Fairy, who kisses him. When he wakes up, he is a real boy at last. Furthermore, Pinocchio finds that the Fairy left him a new suit and boots, and a bag which Pinocchio thinks is the forty pennies he originally loaned to the Blue Fairy. The boy is shocked to find instead forty freshly minted gold coins. He is also reunited with Geppetto, now healthy and resuming woodcarving. They live happily ever after.

The Gates of Sleep

fantasy

Hugh and Alanna Roeswood conceive a baby girl named Marina and invite all the godparents and villagers to her christening. The godparents go up to lay a blessing on the sleeping baby. Before the godparents had given their blessing, Hugh's sister Arachne, who wasn't supposed to have any magical abilities at all, laid a curse upon the infant. She was cursed to die at the age of 18. The sister then left leaving behind the curse and also Marina's terrified parents and godparents. One of the godparents, Elizabeth Hastings, attempts to remove of the curse, but can only change the nature of the curse instead. Hugh and Alanna know that there is only one option and they give Marina to Margherita and Sebastion Tarrant and Margherita's brother, Thomas Buford. They keep Marina successfully hidden away until about 6 months before her fateful 18th birthday, when her aunt kills her parents, finds Marina, and kidnaps her away from the only family she has ever known. Marina is forced to endure all kinds of lessons, including etiquette, dancing and proper conversation. She also has to endure the company of her cousin, Reginald or the "Odious Reggie" as she calls him. Meanwhile, a doctor by the name of Andrew Pike has moved into the estate next door to take care of his mentally unstable patients. Marina meets him when she attempts to help one of his patients, a girl who got lead poisoning from working at a pottery. In the process, Marina finds out that it is her aunt who poisoned, not only the little girl, but many others at her potteries. Arachne is trying to figure out how to re-instate the curse. Marina figures out exactly what Arachne is, but too late! Arachne re-instates the curse and calls upon Dr. Pike to help her with Marina. It eventually ends with two epic battles between Arachne and Marina and Reginald and Dr. Pike.

The Magician King

fantasy

Bored with ruling the magical realm of Fillory with his co-rulers Eliot, Janet and Julia, the magician king Quentin looks for an adventure to give his life some meaning. He commissions a ship and travels with Julia, his distant and damaged former love interest, to the Outer Island to collect back taxes from the region. Once there, Quentin stumbles across a fairy tale regarding seven golden keys. The search for one of the keys on a nearby island accidentally sends Quentin and Julia back to Earth with seemingly no way to return to Fillory. The attempt to return becomes Quentin and Julia's new, unintended quest. On Earth, Quentin and Julia team up with Josh and his friend Poppy, who try to aid them in their return. Along the way, their journey grows more complicated as they discover an even deeper quest with dire implications for magic users everywhere, and the four magicians are drawn into Fillory to help in the fateful search for the golden keys. Julia's backstory unfolds in parallel to Quentin's current adventures. Starting with her failed entrance exam to Brakebills, the elite magical college Quentin attended, Julia founders in depression, desperately seeking anything that can bring magic back into her life. After years of painstaking research and working her way up the hierarchy of a secret society of hedge witches, Julia eventually attains enough magical skill to catch the eye of an elite group of genius-level magicians who practice magic outside the closed world of the magical colleges. The group becomes like a family to her and trains her further in the magical arts. Things go awry, however, when the group decides on a powerful summoning in an attempt to further their magical learning, and the subsequent events leave Julia transformed.

The Demon Spirit

fantasy

Even with the destruction of the dactyl, all is not well in the kingdom of Honce-the-Bear. The servants of Bestesbulzibar still roam the land, creating havoc while, at St.-Mere-Abelle, the centaur Bradwarden is held captive. It is up to Elbryan and Pony, with help from friends, to attempt a rescue while fighting the enemy. It is during this time that Elbryan teaches Pony Bi'nelle dasada, the sword-dance of the Touel'alfar, the short winged elves of Corona. It is also at this time that Father Abbot Markwart, head of the Church of St. Abelle, begins his spiral downward. In this novel the reader meets Andacanavar, a northern ranger from Alpinador. Also, the character of Marcalo De'Unnero becomes more fully developed.

The Phoenix Unchained

fantasy

Harrier Gillain is the youngest of four brothers and born in a family that has held the Harbor Master position in Armathelieh for centuries. As the youngest, he must follow in his father's footsteps to become the next Harbor Master. He is good friends with Tiercel Rolfort, the eldest of 6 children and born and into minor Nobility. The begins during Festival Sennight in the city and Harrier's naming day falls on the first day. He receives a book called A Compendium of Ancient Myth and Legend, Compiled from the Histories of the City from his frequently travelling uncle, Alfrin. Having no desire to read the book, he hands it to Tiercel to read who is fond of reading and is actually interested in the book. A couple of days later Tiercel begins reading the book and his interests are piqued when he comes across topics he has not heard of before, among them are: High Mages, High Magick, and the Third War against the Light. The only magic he, or anyone he knows has ever heard of was Wild Magic, his curiosity got the better of him. Tiercel goes off to the Great Library to look for a book titled A History of the City in Six Volumes. Working in the city harbor, Harrier stumbles upon a ship that is wrecked, the captain of the vessel claims that it is a kraken that attacked the ship, but krakens were presumably destroyed along with all the Endarkend at the conclusion of the Third War against the Light. Harrier showed Tiercel the ship and its damage and explained to him the story the captain is giving on the damage's origin. Tiercel felt sympathetic to the captain's losses and was determined to see if High Magick can discover the truth of the matter. Having discovered a spell from one of the books in the Great Library called a Knowing Spell, Tiercel decides to attempt to cast it on a piece of the ship so he can know the truth of the captain's tale. Tiercel attempts to cast the spell at home not following the instructions verbatim but nothing happens, he gets tired and falls asleep. During his sleep he starts to dream about a beautiful lady within a lake of fire. She is waiting for something and he knows that if she gets her hands on whatever it is, its going to be trouble. Although the dream's imagery is not scary, the feeling that he gets frightens him greatly—more so because he feels that it is so real. Tiercel then wakes up amidst a fire in his room, the fire is snuffed out by his servants and he reports to his parents that he was trying to read during the night. He realizes that he must have messed up on the spell, having to improvise on a few things. He remembers from his readings that the simplest High Magick spell that can be cast is fire. Unknowingly, Tiercel has become the first High Mage in more than a thousand years.

Wren to the Rescue

fantasy

Wren to the Rescue tells the story of an orphan girl who learns her best friend and purportedly fellow-orphan Tess, is in fact Teresa Rhisadel, princess and sole heiress of the neighbouring country of Meldrith. Tess proceeds to reveal her reason for remaining in hiding these many years: a curse. Namely, that of Andreus self-styled king of the nearby and ever-menacing nation of Senna Lirwan. In hopes that after twelve years Andreus has lost interest in his threat of revenge, and out of their ceaseless desire to be reunited with their daughter, Tess’s regal parents have sought her return home to Cantirmoor, capital of Meldrith, and have given Tess permission to invite Wren to accompany her. The plan backfires, however; when the girls are resting in Cantirmoor, the subterfuge of a Lirwani agent succeeds in abducting Tess. In the ensuing confusion, Wren is largely forgotten by the Cantirmoor officials. In frustration and wanting to help Tess, Wren slips away to the Cantirmoor Magic School, which already had been a waypoint of the trip to the palace from the orphanage. There Wren meets a magic prentice, Tyron, whose own plan to rescue Tess she joins. The pair rides to the Free Vale, a magically-protected Free Haven located south of Cantirmoor. Tyron intends to seek the aid of Idres Rhiscarlan, an inhabitant of the Free Vale, to rescue Tess. Idres’ reluctance due to past animosities between her and Tess’ father prevails, however, and the most she aids them is to discuss an approach to Andreus’ mountain-encircled land. At the next major stop on their journey of rescue, Horth Falls Town, Wren and Tyron encounter another prominent sympathizer to the Princess’ plight, Connor Shaltar, also technically a prince of another land, whose provisions breath new hope into the mission. The international scope of the conflict becomes clear as debate over a retaliatory invasion against Senna Lirwan heightens in Cantirmoor, ad interim Wren’s rescue party faces an escalating variety of threats as they make their way into, in to, and through, the border mountains. Once on the Lirwani side, some transmogrification (conferred in the rear dust-jacket text in most editions of the print volume of the story) is the only thing which saves Wren from the ambush-laden land’s defenses. This magical intervention proves to be provided by an unexpected ally, whose previous rescue of the rescuers went anonymous. Her compatriots being overrun and captured by the intensifying security measures on the planes of Andreus’ blighted land, Wren is able narrowly to escape, still being in animal form herself. Wren defies the directive of hastening home to be restored human before her mind is lost forever, instead electing to expand her rescue mission to include all of her friends now bound in the highest tower of Edrann. Through a daring combination of skilful infiltration on the part of Wren, and the ingenuity and magic ability of her friends, all six foreign detainees win free, though Wren’s dignity at the following feast in their honor leaves something to be desired. What shall happen next remains indefinite as this volume comes to a close, with two of the planet’s most prestigious magicians setting off on their own mission to bring Andreus’ educator to justice, while the former’s position in control of Senna Lirwan remains all-too-secure.

Tros of Samothrace

fantasy

The novel concerns the swashbuckling adventures of the title character as he battles Norsemen, pre-Roman Britons and Julius Caesar.

Earthsearch II

fantasy

The story of Earthsearch 2 continues the adventures of the crew of the starship Challenger (Telson, Sharna, Darv and Astra) begun in the previous serial, Earthsearch, which told the story of theirquest for their lost ancestral homeplanet of Earth (which had moved to orbit a new and unknown star when its citizens realised their original sun was going to go nova). At the end of the serial, the four crewmembers had chosen to settle on the sufficiently Earth-like planet Paradise and escape the ruthless, manipulative control of the Challengers megalomaniacal control computers, Angel One and Angel Two. While the Angels departed Paradise orbit to continue the Earthsearch mission (and to achieve their aim of dominating an entire civilisation), the humans began their new life on their new homeworld. Earthsearch 2 begins four years later, when Telson, Sharna, Darv and Astra have settled into their life on Paradise (assisted by two androids, the agricultural machine George and the argumentative general-purpose service unit Tidy). Both couples now have young children - Darv and Astra have the twins Elka and Savin, and Telson and Sharna have their son Bran. Despite the colonists' embrace of Paradise as home, the lifestyle is proving to be difficult and full of hardships. Sharna's loss of what would have been her second child raises questions about the sustainability of the small colony as well as bringing up differences of opinion on how (and whether) to use the remaining technology and resources (including their surviving planetary shuttle). When Savin is unexpectedly killed by a 'monster' that appears from the sea, the colonists are placed under further strain. Noticing the appearance of an unidentified artefact in planetary orbit, Telson and Darv fly up towards it in the shuttle, to discover that it is an eight-mile long spaceship called Voyager 30 and apparently part of an Earth-originated survey mission. Appearances are deceptive. The spaceship is in fact the returning Challenger: repaired, shortened, refitted and still operated by the Angels (as well by a team of control room androids overseen by Android Surgeon-General Kraken). The Angels are now being attacked by mysterious transmissions apparently aimed at damaging or destroying organic computers such as themselves and the Challengers higher intelligence androids. As humans are totally unaffected by the attacks, the Angels require human assistance in order to seek out and destroy the transmissions at source, and have therefore returned to Paradise to recruit the only humans they can obtain. However, the Angels do not reveal this information, and instead feign an interest in the welfare of the colony in an attempt to gain the trust of the humans. At the same time they have secretly sent an android to kidnap the children (the same "sea monster" which accidentally killed Savin in a bungled abduction attempt). When rejected by the suspicious humans, the Angels resort to sabotage on a planetary scale, using terraforming equipment from the Challenger to melt Paradise's polar ice caps and thus raise the sea level in an attempt to get their former crew to rejoin them on the ship. The resulting flooding begins to submerge all of the land, forcing the settlers to abandon their colony and use their shuttle as a floating ark, even down to loading breeding pairs of animals into the shuttle cargo bay. The crew survive and hold out against the Angels' plans until a series of accidents loses them their drinking water, forcing a surrender. They make the best of things by demanding a concession in the shape of a reversal of the flood (so that the animals can be released and survive), following which they fly their shuttle up to the Challenger. On board the Challenger, the colonists make attempts to regain control over both the Angels and the ships control room, but are thwarted when the Angels kidnap the children from the shuttle. The adults are gassed by a surgical android and fall unconscious. When they come round, they discover that the ship has long left the Paradise system and that they have been in suspended animation for sixteen years. However, the children have been awake the whole time, and have aged normally, now being between eighteen and nineteen years old and firmly under the influence of the Angels. Elka appears friendly and enthusiastic, but Bran is now both hostile and the commander of the Challenger. He demonstrates harsh suspicion and aggression towards his parents and the other two adults, even threatening to kill them should they challenge his authority. En route to the source system of the attacks, the Challenger encounters a free-floating fifty-mile wide parabolic dish which the Angels decide to use as raw material for shielding. Telson, Sharna, Darv and Astra are sent to investigate the dish. They discover that it is an abandoned artificial sun called Solaria D, used by the Earth during its transit to its new sun, and presided over by an Angel-like control computer called Solaria. Despite her apparent benevolence, Solaria is revealed to have been abandoned by Earth once she developed murderous megalomaniacal tendencies. Darv succeeds in destroying her. During their stay on Solaria D, the crew discover the name (though not the location) of Earth's new home star, Novita Six. Returning to the Challenger, the crew notice that Solaria D is now moving in an anomalous way. They discover that the artificial sun is now in the grip of the gravity well of a black hole, and that the Challenger is following it. Attempts to escape from the black hole are hampered by the fact that the human crew have no access to the Challengers control room, where Android Surgeon-General Kraken has had his reasoning capacity damaged by the continuing attacks and is no longer responding to or obeying instructions. With the Angels drastically weakened by the attacks and unable to assist, the humans attempt to storm the control room, which is defended by android warriors. The assault fails when the crew run out of time and the Challenger is pulled into the black hole. The crew regain consciousness to find themselves on a gigantic plain surrounded by many different kinds of abandoned starships, including the Challenger. They discover that they have in fact landed unharmed on an enormous artificial construct - a "gravity platform" which merely resembles a black hole and forms part of Earth's long-range defences, acting as a trap for potentially hostile vessels. The chief engineer of Spaceguard Six, Theros, refuses to release either the Challenger or its crew as he deems the Angels too much of a threat. Not only have they integrated themselves into the entire structure of the ship (making their removal from it effectively impossible), Theros suspects that they may have interposed themselves into the brains of the Challengers crew. When Darv locates the Spaceguard's gravitational control room and reverses the field, he frees the Challenger but at the cost of destroying Spaceguard Six. The ship continues its journey, but immediately runs into further problems when debris from the Spaceguard seriously damages the ship's life support systems and farm galleries, threatening the lives of all humans and organic computers on the ship. With the inexperienced and insecure Bran unable to cope (and undermined by Elka, who secretly dominates him and dictates his actions at the prompting of the Angels), Telson regains command of the Challenger and succeeds in organising the crew to deal with the problems. A second assault on the control room is more successful, but attracts the wrath of the near-invincible Android Surgeon-General Kraken, who kidnaps Darv and Astra to replace his destroyed control room androids. Now suffering catastrophic delusions about seizing the power of stars, Kraken is placing the ship at drastic risk. With the assistance of their android Tidy, the crew manage to destroy Kraken and regain control of the ship. Telson discovers that Kraken has coincidentally selected Novita Six as the ship's next target star. Arriving in the Novita Six system, the Challenger finally reaches its original home, Earth. However, the planet does not look like the Earth that the crew have seen in recordings. It is almost totally dead, with very little water and no rain. The only sign of life is a huge ten-mile-high tower on the equator, with a tiny village nearby. The crew fly down to the village, and meet Peeron, the leader. They discover that the Earth's civilisation has collapsed a long time ago, and the human race is reduced to eking out a meagre living from a tiny spring that grows weaker every year. It appears that the humans will be extinct in a short period of time. The Challenger crew use the terraforming systems on the Challenger to bring rain to Earth and create a stable weather pattern which will allow the people to flourish. The crew examine the tower, finding that there is a door set into one side which cannot be opened. Peeron says that many of his predecessors have made attempts over the centuries - for example, by hitting the door with battering rams - but it will not budge. It is said that it is held shut by a "lock of knowledge". Darv eventually works out how to open the ingeniously simple lock, which requires a low grade of technology which would only be available to people who have already worked out basic principles of science and engineering. The door is a very close/accurate fit in the aperture, and contains mild heating elements that cause it to expand and lock in place. These heaters do not heat it to the point that it is warm to the touch. Simply attaching a refrigeration system to the door and cooling it a few degrees causes the door to shrink and move freely. When the crew open the door, they enter the tower, leaving Peeron and his people outside. They discover that the tower contains a colossal library, presided over by the artificial intelligence "Earthvoice" which serves as both the voice of the library and as a "guardian". Earthvoice explains to the crew that the tower was constructed by the people of Earth as a repository of all human knowledge when their last great civilisation was collapsing. The lock was designed so that the people could not enter until they had already worked out how to make some technology for themselves. Unfortunately, Earthvoice's abilities do not included weather control, so although he has successfully defended Earth's legacy of knowledge he has been helpless to deal with the deterioration of the planet's environmental conditions. Earthvoice has already communicated with the Angels, presenting himself as friendly and subservient. Prompted by Elka to work with the Angels, Earthvoice re-establishes contact with them and is welcomed eagerly. He admits to having been the source of the attacks which have damaged the angels but states that they were a programming directive which he has now overridden. To the humans' horror, Earthvoice and the Angels agree to share both the library's knowledge and power over the Earth, with the Angels also urging that Earthvoice exterminates the crew for safety. Earthvoice begins to transfer the knowledge - however, the Angels have fallen into a final trap. Earthvoice has always intended to destroy them, and he now launches one last brutal and specialised attack on the Angels from close range, erasing their consciousness and memory facilities. Rather than interfere further with the primitive human culture on Earth, the crew seal the door to the tower and return to the Challenger. With the Angels now reduced to subservient and "quite brainless" computer systems, they head back to their chosen home, Paradise, to rebuild their colony.

In the Green Star's Glow

fantasy

Janchan and Arjala are married in Komar, where they also honeymoon. Karn, feeling that he needs to do something (almost anything) to help rescue Niamh, takes some of the leftover food/drink items from the wedding feast and stashes them in the storage compartment of the sky-sled which he then energises and heads towards the trees. As it is night, he quickly tethers it to a branch and falls asleep. He is awakened the next morning by a spear-point touching his chest—held by a teenaged girl, Varda. Some of Varda's companions (including one named Iona, at 15 slightly older than Varda) urge her to kill him. Due to Iona being a rival for leadership, Varda decides to spare but enslave Karn. On the tubular craft, Niamh scratches Delgan and advances on him with her knife but Delgan manages to persuade her to sheathe it through some oily words. Then, he forces her to back against the rear bulkhead by pointing the zoukar at her with a threat to use it, and advances to throw her off—only to be prevented as Zorak shoots him in the hand with an arrow. Due to the pain, he cannot use an oily tone, and his further attempts to persuade Niamh that he is "friendly" fall flat. When Zorak comes forward to stop the aircraft, Delgan tells him to back off or die—and is not persuaded of danger when Zorak points out the approaching tree boles. A branch then strikes inside the cockpit and pulls Delgan out—so he was the falling occupant seen by Zarqa and Janchan. After stopping the aircraft, Zorak and Niamh find themselves facing a ythid. Zorak tries to kill it by shooting it in the eye (unscuccessfully, as the lizard shuts its nictitating-membrane), while Niamh tries to poke her knife in from its back—which allows Zorak to shoot it in the throat. Niamh then almost faints from exhaustion and fear; Zorak, putting aside his weapons, prevents this but slips off the branch after stepping in the dead ythids blood. Niamh, taking the weapons, explores the branch until she comes upon a tower of strange design/construction (Karn would have told her that it was built by one of Zarqa's race), where she walks into a lab with a detached head. The head's eyes open and it cries "waa-waa-waaa...", whereupon an odd-looking dwarf, Quoron, comes in and takes her as prisoner. The head is the result of one of his experiments which failed (he believes, due to the brain being disconnected from oxygen for too long). He puts her under the guard of another of his experiments, Number Nine, a giant with four arms and two heads (one male, one female) but almost no intellect (according to Quoron). Niamh quickly figures that Quoron's experiments are just like those Zarqa told her the Kaloodha had conducted—a quest for immortality. Zorak, meanwhile, lands on a flower which tries to swallow him. As he struggles, a voice tells him to relax and wait for night. He finds the source of the voice to be a kraan, Xikchaka. The logic of Xikchaka is that when the petals close, the two of them can then destroy them (Xikchaka with his mandibles and claws, Zorak by pulling them at base)--which Zorak accepts, allowing the two to escape at night. As Zorak attempts to part later from Xikchaka, the latter's horde captures and enslaves him, setting him to manufacture weapons (swords, spears, bows, …) specifically modified for kraan usage. He finds out from Xargo, the chief smith (captive), that this is due to the plans of the horde's ruler, Rkkith, to invade and destroy one of the treetop cities, Phaolon—a plan put into Rkkith's mind by a treacherous, odd human captive. The treacherous captive once accompanies Rkkith on a weapons-manufacturing inspection tour—and is recognised by Zorak as Delgan (to no surprise). Eventually, when the horde nears Phaolon, they find an odd structure and a group of kraan led by Xikchaka (with Zorak along as a slave) is sent to investigate. Quoron eventually boasts to Niamh that he has perfected the technique by which his brain will survive—and trained Number Nine to do the surgery, as it can be performed much faster due to the multiple arms. He then chains Niamh and forces her to watch the surgery, grinning when his head is finally disconnected from his torso—only to react in horror as Number Nine then stabs him in the brain (and to death). Number Nine then destroys the lab, putting WaWa (the head which had made that sound, so-named by Quoron) out of misery. The kraan party has meantime, entered the tower, except for Xikchaka and the two guarding Zorak. They are promptly slain by Number Nine, but not before they maul the giant severely with their jaws and claws. Outside, Zarqa has arrived; when one of the kraan guards tries to stab him (with modified spear), Zarqa grabs the weapon and flings it through the insect's body—allowing Zorak to break the neck of the other. Zarqa then tells him that they must hurry as he has sensed Niamh's mind-radiations from a Kalood-built tower nearby. When they enter the tower, they find the lab destroyed—and no Niamh (though they do see the broken chains that held her, and know she is still alive). Zorak recovers his bow and quiver and the two then leave to search further. Xikchaka has freed Niamh from the chains with his mandibles and claws—and tells her to tell Zorak that at least one kraan (Xikchaka) now understands the meaning of "friendship", and also warns her that the kraan are advancing on Phaolon. Niamh then finds the tubular craft and pilots it away. Meanwhile, the amazons discover Karn's journey-stash and hit it with wild abandon—getting drunk in the process. Varda then forces Karn to lie in her bed—and is warned by him that another is watching. Iona, the watcher, then goes to get the other girls to gang-up on (and kill) Karn and Varda. Karn takes Varda in the sky-sled and pilots it away. Varda then asks Karn to kiss him; the two are then startled by a scream, as Niamh has seen them, leaving Karn dejected. Eventually, the kraan arrive in the neighbourhood of Phaolon and are detected by scouts. Phaolon's warriors, on their zaiphs attack the kraan host, but are not able to blunt the attack much—due to the sheer numbers of kraan pushing forward. Delgan smiles on seeing this, as his plan has been to destroy Phaolon—hoping the grief of its loss will then kill Karn, Niamh and others. Just then, two aircraft with three aboard come into view and land in Phaolon. Delgan recognises the pilots as Karn and Niamh, but does not know the third occupant (Varda). Karn and Niamh quickly take some of Phaolon's archers and fly out over the kraan host to do much more damage (than the frontal attack). At that point, Zarqa and Zorak (who Delgan also recognises) come in—the Kalood determines the kraan officers and directs Zorak to slay them. The loss of officers throws the forwardmost kraan into a state of retreat, and the ones following to continue pressing forward on "last orders", creating a jam which the Phaolonese exploit. This panics Rkkith, who flees. Delgan shouts that he can turn the tide of battle, but Rkkith in his panic fails to recognise him—mauling the Blue Barbarian Warlord (with his claws) and throwing him aside. Delgan then slays Rkkith with the zoukar, and has a last laugh before expiring. Xikchaka now becomes the new ruler of the kraan and negotiates a withdrawal from Phaolon. He promises his friend Zorak (who has served as emissary) that the kraan will never again attack the treetop cities. Varda then explains what happened to Niamh, who promptly announces to the victorious Phaolonese that she and Karn are to be married. Sometime after the marriage, the author puts Prince Karn's body in a state of temporary animation and makes a temporary return to his earthly body—to write down the accounts, and instructions for their release. Before he returns permanently (leaving the crippled, earthly body to die naturally) to Phaolon, he writes "I am caught in the Green Star's spell, and never wish to be free of it!".

Elsewhere

fantasy

Elsewhere tells the story of a fifteen year old girl, Elizabeth 'Liz' Hall, who dies in a bicycle accident and wakes up to find herself traveling on a boat called the SS Nile. There, she meets a girl who had been shot and a famous musician who had died of a drug overdose. After watching her own funeral through Binoculars on the Observation decks, Liz realizes that she is truly dead. Soon afterward, she and the other passengers arrive in what is known as "Elsewhere". She meets her grandmother, Betty, who had died before Liz was born, and Liz begins to live with her. In Elsewhere, Liz learns everyone ages backwards from the day they die until they turn 7 days old, and then they are placed in the river and return to Earth as babies to begin a new life. Liz misses life on Earth, and becomes obsessed with watching her family and friends through binoculars situated on the Observation Decks. She tried to make contact with her family a few times, but gets caught by Owen with whom she falls in love. She is depressed, but in time she makes new friends in Elsewhere who help her come to terms with the fact that she has died. She gets a job working with dogs arriving from earth and realizes she can speak canine. Gradually, she learns that a life lived backwards is not much different to a life lived forwards.

The Green Futures of Tycho

fantasy

The main character is Tycho Tithonus, an 11 year-old boy. Each child in his family is named after a famous artist or scientist and their parents expect them to live up to their names. Tycho himself is named after Sleator's younger brother, who in turn, was named after Tycho Brahe, the Danish astronomer. He finds a pocket sized time machine in the family's garden. He immediately uses it to change some things from the past and to visit the future. But as he travels more and more he realizes that he is turning into something horrible and it becomes a race against time to save all of his family and himself.

Blades of the Tiger

fantasy

While attempting to steal back an important work of art, Shedara discovers that the lord of the keep has been attacked and is dying. He mistakes her for a friend and mutters "The Hooded One" before he dies from his mortal but bloodless wounds. After returning to Armach-nesti and discussing the event with the Voice of the Stars, she is sent on another mission to retrieve the Hooded One, a statue of an evil Emperor of Aurim, Maladar the Faceless. Maladar's soul has been imprisoned in the statue and evil forces are at work to try to free him. Meanwhile, across the Tiderun, on the plains north of Coldhope Keep, Hult has discovered that the Uigan leader, their Bolya, has been ambushed. Chovuk and Hult look for the Boyla, and discover that he is still alive. Chovuk kills the Boyla, to be named the next Boyla. Hult later discovers that Chovuk has been learning evil sorcery from a black robed mage, known only as the Teacher. Chovuk fights the other contestant for the position of Boyla, and wins because he used sorcery to shape change into steppe-tiger. The tribes have a superstition that the steppe-tiger is the avatar of their god, and so embrace Chovuk as the new Boyla. Chovuk recruits the goblins, as well as an elf, Eldako, from the wild elf tribes to help him attack the Imperial League. They burn, sack, and massacre the towns and villages of the Imperial League north of the Tiderun, while they wait for the moons to sink below the horizon, so that the Tiderun will become dry. In the Imperial League south of the Tiderun, Forlo is returning from many long years of war, when he discovers that the capital has been damaged by an earthquake, and that the emperor and almost all of his immediate blood relatives are dead. He also finds out that the keeper of the peace is Duke Rekhaz. Forlo meets Duke Rekhaz, and Rekhaz wants Forlo to help command his army, so that Rekhaz can defeat any opponents vying for the throne. However, Forlo has a writ of dismissal from the now dead emperor, so he refuses to serve, which angers Rekhaz. Forlo returns home, to discover a pirate raiding in his waters, whom he had previously signed a treaty with. He discovers that the pirate raided the ship only because the ship was carrying artifacts that hadn't been taxed, and the owner of the ship was a rich merchant. In return for raiding the ship, the pirate gives Forlo a statue. After taking it home, he finds out that his wife is pregnant, and that they both feel the statue's menacing presence. He decides to have it moved into the family vaults under the keep. Shedara discovers that the statue was stolen from a merchant, and that it has ended up in the hands of Barreth Forlo. She attempts to steal the statue, but is trapped and captured by Forlo's guards. Forlo questions her, but she refuses to answer and he has her locked up in a tower. He learns that the Uigan are preparing to cross the Tiderun, and attack his fief. He calls for aid from Rekhaz, but Rekhaz questions his loyalty. Rekhaz agrees to give Forlo only six hundred men if he agrees to rejoin the army. Forced to act, Forlo agrees. Later, Grath, a friend of Forlo's and the current commander of the Sixth Legion agrees to help Forlo. He decides to send the Sixth Legion to help Forlo, but they still can't hold the fief. He then questions Shedara again, and agrees to give her the statue if she will contact Armach-nesti to send aid. She contacts Armach-nesti, but discovers that the evil forces intent on capturing the statue have murdered the Voice of the Stars and all her people. Forlo tells her she's free to go, but she still wants to help him, so she forces Maladar to send a gigantic wave over the barbarian horde. The barbarian horde is destroyed, and she manages to force Maladar back into the statue. A small remainder of the Uigan horde is still alive, as well as Eldako, the Boyla, and Hult. The horde doesn't present much resistance and are easily defeated by Forlo and his men, however, the elf escapes. The Boyla turns back into a human because the evil forces betrayed him, so he becomes mad. He fights Forlo in an attempt to regain his honor, but Forlo kills him. The Boyla's protector, Hult, decides not to avenge his master and instead follows Forlo. Forlo discovers that Grath was killed during the fighting and that the Uigan were sent as a diversion so that the keep would be unprotected. Forlo, Shedara, and Hult return to the keep only to discover that Essana has been kidnapped, the statue is missing and the only thing left behind is a dragon's scale.

The Man in the Moon

fantasy

The story centers on a long river trip organized when trading ships with Christmas items inexplicably fail to arrive. Unknown to the heroes, their route downriver to a seaside trading center will take them through areas under siege from evil forces including crazed goblins and malevolent witches. Professor Wurzle provides somewhat misguided explanations and histories for events as they arise. The youngest character, Dooly, is given to wild fantasies and stories. This frequently leaves the inexperienced adventurer, cheesemaker Jonathan Bing, with competing and implausible explanations as to what is actually going on. Downstream, they encounter Miles the Magician, the carefree link men, and the elves at running the mysterious elfin ship, seen at inexplicable moments. (Here, the plot diverges significantly from the rewrite, The Elfin Ship. Editor Del Rey described the plot as having gone "haywire".) The heroes from the downriver trip are taken in an elfin airship to the moon. There, amid lush valleys, the elves have a kingdom. They begin to look into the activities of Dooly’s mysterious grandfather, but before significant conclusions are reached, they decide to test the curious object carried by the Professor. Discovered in an elfin ship, and believed by him to be a weapon, it is actually a treasure-hunting device. Following minor misadventures, a treasure is found, and the heroes return home to distribute their shares of the treasure to the townspeople.

The Starless World

fantasy

The Enterprise is sent to investigate Klingon activity in the galactic core. They encounter a shuttlecraft piloted by Thomas Clayton, from the long-lost ship, the USS Rickover. Clayton is also an old friend of Kirk's, a former roommate from his time at Starfleet Academy. Kirk is prepared to dismiss his unfortunate friend as a madman until a mysterious force seizes control of the ship. Clayton declares the Enterprise is now going to meet his new god.

The Black Tattoo

fantasy

The story begins with Charlie, whose parents are recently divorced, meeting his father in a restaurant with his best friend Jack Farrell. They leave the restaurant, however, soon after entering. Soon afterward, Charlie is unknowingly possessed by a demon known as the Scourge. He also joins the society known as The Brotherhood Of Sleep, who imprisoned the Scourge in the roots of a tree until one of their own released him. With Charlie's help, the Scourge manages to first kill all the members of the Brotherhood, save for the girl Esme, who has trained all her life to kill the demon. Soon after the death of their members, a possessed Charlie gets into a gateway to Hell, which is essentially a Roman Empire of sorts composed of demonesque species and even gladiator pits. Soon after reaching Hell, The Scourge's true goal is revealed: He wishes to awaken "the dragon" who created the universe, and upon awakening he will destroy it again. Suddenly, it is up to Jack, Esme, and a team of soldiers to stop Charlie and the Scourge from destroying the universe.

Prince of Annwn

fantasy

Pwyll, the prince of Dyved, offends Arawn, ruler of Annwn (the underworld), by baiting his hunting hounds on a stag that Arawn's dogs had brought down. In recompense he agrees to exchanges places with Arawn for a year. Arawn is pledged to fight his enemy Havgan, whom Walton represents as a member of a conquering eastern pantheon, by whom he is detined to be defeated unless the mortal takes his place. Pwyll must overcome a number of foes to reach the Land of the Dead, and additional perils on his way to face Havgan, the worst threat of all, a deity whose evil is masked by an attractive beauty. Nonetheless, Pwyll manages to overcome his foe. For the remainder of the year he enjoys the luxury and prerogatives of the lord of Annwn in Arawn's guise, until the time comes to trade places again. He does not, however, sleep with Arawn's wife, thus earning the lord of Annwn's gratitude. On his return to the mortal realm Pwyll encounters Rhiannon of the Birds, a beautiful maiden whose ambling horse cannot be overtaken. To win her hand he must overcome Gwawl, a rival suitor to whom she is betrothed. He ultimately succeeds by trapping Gwawl in a magic bag that can never be filled and having him beaten to death in the bag. Pwyll and Rhiannon have a son, but the baby disappears the night after his birth, and the mother, suspected of murdering him, is sentenced to a humiliating punishment. In fact the child was taken by a monster who preys on newborns. The beast has also been raiding the stables of Teyrnon; returning to carry off the latest foal, it is surprised by the now watchful owner, who manages to rescue both foal and child. Teyrnon and his wife name the boy Gwri Golden Hair and raise him as their own. As Gwri grows up he increasingly resembles his real father; realizing who he is, Teyrnon returns him to his true parents. Rhiannon is released from her ordeal, and the boy is renamed Pryderi ("worry").

The Shadow Rising

fantasy

At the beginning of the book, all of the major protagonists are together at the Stone of Tear, where Rand al'Thor has just taken (at the end of The Dragon Reborn) the crystal sword Callandor from The Stone, showing the world that he is The Dragon Reborn. Selene reveals herself to be Lanfear, one of the Forsaken, and tells Rand to join her. The Stone of Tear is then stormed by Trollocs and Fades, sent by another Forsaken Sammael (Lanfear did not have anything to do with this). Another Forsaken, Semirhage, also sends shadowspawn into the Stone of Tear, to oppose Sammael's forces. In defense, Rand uses Callandor to send a lightning storm to kill all of the Trollocs and Fades, leaving some believing Rand has gone mad. Rand declares his intention to go follow the People of the Dragon, the Aiel, back to their home, the Aiel Waste. Egwene al'Vere and Moiraine Damodred resolve to accompany him. Mat Cauthon, unsure of what to do, finds answers within the Stone of Tear's Aelfinn ter'angreal, and is prompted to follow Rand to the Aiel Waste. Perrin Aybara, after hearing rumors of trouble in Two Rivers, chooses to return home to the Two Rivers, and Faile Bashere goes with him. Elayne Trakand, Nynaeve al'Meara, and Thom Merrilin decide to go to Tarabon to hunt the Black Ajah. Also Min Farshaw arrives in Tar Valon to report to the Amyrlin Siuan Sanche, inadvertently setting off a chain of events that will lead to a Tower split. Thus, The Shadow Rising follows four groups of characters in four main plotlines. Rand uses a Portal Stone to transport Mat, Egwene, Moiraine, and the Aiel at the Stone of Tear from Tear to the Aiel Waste, where Taardad and Shaido Aiel are waiting for them. The Aiel Wise Ones have Moiraine, Aviendha (a former maiden of the spear seeking to become a Wise One), and Rand enter Rhuidean, and allow Mat to go with Rand. All three enter ter'angreal in Rhuidean. Rand walks through the crystal garden that is the proving ground for Aiel chiefs. He relives portions of the lives of various Aiel (his paternal ancestors) before and just after the Breaking, and learns that the Aiel once shunned violence and served Aes Sedai. The true Aiel from the Age of Legends live on as Tinkers, seeking the Song they once sang to the plants. Rand survives the trial and emerges with dragon markings on both arms, proving him to be He Who Comes With the Dawn, the Car'a'carn, the Chief of Chiefs of the Aiel. Mat finds a doorway ter'angreal similar to the one he entered in Tear. He enters the door seeking answers to the questions he asked of the Snake creatures during his previous visit. He encounters their Fox counterparts, who bargain for gifts instead of answering questions (he later speculates that the Eelfinn are namesake for the children's game of Snakes and Foxes, which there is no way of winning). He comes out with the gaps in his memory filled with those of men long dead and with fluency in the Old Tongue. He is also gifted with a spear called an ashandarei and a medallion ter'angreal that protects against the One Power. Rand finds Mat has been hanged from the Tree of Life as the price for these gifts, but he is able to revive Mat. From this point on Mat wears a black scarf around his neck to hide the hanging scars. Moiraine remains in Rhuidean longer than the others, delaying the departure of the party. Having visited the three-hooped ter'angreal used by the Wise Ones she has some knowledge of the future. The Wise Ones assign Aviendha the task of teaching Rand Aiel customs as they travel to Cold Rocks Hold. On the way to Cold Rocks Hold they come across a group of merchants. The Aiel have the merchants follow them to Cold Rocks Hold. At Al'cair Dal, both Rand al'Thor and Couladin of the Shaido Aiel declare themselves to be He Who Comes With the Dawn. Rand is forced to reveal the secret history of the Aiel in the Age of Legends to prove to the clan chiefs that he did enter Rhuidean and is truly He Who Comes With the Dawn, whereas Couladin is an impostor and did not. An uproar breaks out among the Aiel, and, hoping to avert violence, Rand uses the One Power to bring a rainstorm to the Aiel Waste for the first time since the Breaking of the World. After fighting breaks out among the Aiel, Rand chases after Asmodean, who had previously been disguised as a gleeman traveling with the merchants. Going by the alias Jasin Natael, Asmodean is after the ter'angreal access keys to the Choedan Kal, the most powerful sa'angreal ever constructed. They battle at Rhuidean, and Rand defeats Asmodean by cutting him off from the Dark One. Lanfear arrives and allows Rand to live and then helps him by limiting Asmodean's ability to channel the One Power: Asmodean will be forced to teach Rand how to use the One Power (something only a male Forsaken can do) because the Shadow will now believe him to be a traitor. When Rand returns to Al'cair Dal, he finds that most of the Aiel, except for the Shaido and a few others, have acknowledged him as the Car'a'carn and joined him. In the Two Rivers, Perrin discovers that the people are caught between Trollocs, led by Slayer, and the Children of the Light, with whom Padan Fain is working, who believe Perrin is a Darkfriend. He also finds Verin Mathwin and Alanna Mosvani, both Aes Sedai, in the Two Rivers. They are searching for girls to bring to the White Tower to become Aes Sedai, since both Egwene and Nynaeve came from the Two Rivers and are strong in the Power. With the help of Blademaster Tam al'Thor and Abell Cauthon, Perrin leads the people of the Two Rivers to war against the Trollocs, and the villagers begin to call him Lord Perrin, and Perrin Goldeneyes, titles that he tries without success to discourage. Before the final victory, Perrin marries Faile, and drives out Lord Luc after discovering that Luc is indeed Slayer. In the city of Tanchico in Tarabon, Elayne and Nynaeve encounter Moghedien and the Black Ajah and remove a male a'dam from their possession. Elayne and Nynaeve also meet Bayle Domon and the Seanchan Egeanin. They 'befriend' the Panarch Amathera, whom they rescue from Temaile, who is tormenting her. They also manage to collect one of the Seals on the Dark One's prison. Nynaeve and Moghedien end up battling, discovering that they are equal in power. Nynaeve shields the Forsaken, but they are discovered by one of the Black Ajah, who damages the palace using a ter'angreal that makes balefire. In the confusion, Moghedien escapes. Min Farshaw arrives at the White Tower to report to the Amyrlin, as Moiraine bid her to do. Her arrival is noted by Elaida, who discovers that something is going on between Moiraine, Siuan and the Dragon Reborn. Min remains in the Tower in the guise of Elmindreda, a giddy, empty-headed woman unable to decide between two suitors. Elaida and her supporters confront and depose Siuan, stilling her and Leane Sharif her Keeper of the Chronicles. Elaida is Raised (made Amyrlin) and many Aes Sedai flee. Min hides, and with the help of the cook Laras, frees the deposed Amyrlin Seat and Leane. Min, Siuan and Leane are recognized by Gawyn Trakand as they try to flee the Tower grounds. He is reluctant to help Siuan since the disappearance of Elayne, but he helps them escape because Min asks it, and because it means helping Egwene as well. While riding through the city toward freedom across one of the bridges, they come across the gentled Logain, whom they talk into going with them.

The Crystal Prison

fantasy

Oswald is ill and he's hours from death. While Twit and Piccadilly vow to return to their home, Thomas arrives, telling Audrey that she must join him on a journey to Greenwich to speak to the Starwife. So Audrey, Thomas, and Twit went they are told that the Chitters will all perish by the end of the night unless Audrey agrees to take Madame Akkikuyu to live in Twit's field. Although Oswald makes a full recovery. Nicodemus, proves his powers to Akkikuyu. Nicodemus tells Madamme Akkikuyu to release him from his prison, and a girl has to replace his spot, Akkikuyu realises that he is referring to Audrey and agrees to do his bidding Nicodemus chooses Alison for the sacrifice. Akkikuyu takes her to be sacrificed and halfway through, Nicodemus reveals that he is Jupiter, and that he will inhabit Akkikuyu's body as soon as he is freed from the Crystal Prison. For redemption Madamme Akkikuyu leaps into the flames, saving Alison and holding Jupiter imprisoned for the time being. Akkikuyu is buried in great honour. Now that Akkikuyu is dead, Audrey's deal with the Starwife is void and a little while later Jupiter's prison is smashed unknowingly by Alison and he flies into the air, vowing revenge on those who opposed him... This is the last appearance of Twit in the Deptford Mice series, although he is mentioned throughout The Final Reckoning. It is unknown if he is to cross paths with the others again, as it is noted that neither Arthur or Audrey would ever return to Fennywolde. Madame Akkikuyu's role in The Crystal Prison is very similar to Morgan's in The Final Reckoning. Both are happier than they have ever been in their life, both lives are ruined by Jupiter at its end and both commit suicide.

Skulduggery Pleasant 2: Playing With Fire

fantasy

A year after the events of the first novel, Stephanie Edgeley (now known as Valkyrie Cain) continues to work with Skulduggery Pleasant, an undead skeleton detective, capturing villains for The Sanctuary. The Sanctuary is now ruled by Thurid Guild in a new location after the massacre in the previous Sanctuary. Soon Baron Vengeous (one of the original three generals of Mevolent) escapes his prison and begins searching for the armor of Lord Vile, another one of Mevolent's Generals with which he will be able to resurrect The Grotesquery, a hybrid monster made from a Faceless One's remains with the power bring back the Faceless Ones. Arriving in Ireland, he meets an accomplice vampire named Dusk. He orders Dusk to kidnap Valkyrie Cain. Dusk bites and enslaves two humans to help him. After losing to Skulduggery Pleasant, Baron Vengeous goes after China Sorrows who was once part of a cult that worshiped the Faceless Ones and also included Serpine and Vengous himself. The Baron confronts China Sorrows in her apartment whilst Valkyrie is visiting. Valkyrie hides whilst China and Vengous talk. Vengeous reveals that he was released from prison by an assassin named Billy-Ray Sanguine who promptly arrives along with Dusk. A battle ensues during which Valkyrie reveals herself and defends China. Valkyrie Cain is soon chased by Billy-Ray Sanguine who can travel through earth and buildings. After being in a struggle, Valkyrie is saved by Tanith Low. In the progress Valkyrie steals Billy-Ray Sanguine's razor, his primary weapon, leaving the psychopathic assassin with a grudge against her. Valkyrie and Skulduggery along with a convict called Vaurien Scapegrace went to the Magician's village of Roarhaven to find a mysterious man called the Torment who has information they need. After a battle in a seedy pub with some thugs (including a giant) and an unpleasant incident with some massive spiders, they find the Torment and ask for his help. The Torment only says he will help them find Vile's armour if Skulduggery kills Valkyrie, who is descended from the Ancients whom the Torment despises, as he thinks any power will corrupt civilization. Skulduggery takes Valkyrie around a corner and they summon her Reflection, a living mirror image of Valkyrie who she uses as a decoy, enabling her to live a double life. Skulduggery takes Valkyrie's reflection before the Torment and shoots it. The Torment is satisfied and tells Skulduggery the whereabouts of the Grotesquery. He and Valkyrie return Scapegrace to prison and go to find the Grotesquery, unfortunately Vengeous's minions have already obtained it. Soon after, Skullduggery and Valkyrie take the reflection back to Valkyries's house. Valkyrie touches the mirror to absorb its memories and remembers what it is like to be shot. Valkyrie then notices that whenever she tries to look back in her memories one part always remains blank and she cannot pin it down. She realizes that her reflection hid something from her, and finds it disconcerting and dangerous. However, she goes on with Skulduggery without mentioning it to him. Valkyrie is kidnapped by Sanguine who takes her to an old abandoned church to the Faceless Ones where she is taken before the altar where Vengeous awaits her. The evil sorcerer cuts Valkyrie's finger and spills some of her blood onto the Grotesquery's body before using the Armour's shadow powers which mingle with the blood. Skulduggery subsequently arrives and rescues Valkyrie. After stealing the Grotesquery, Valkyrie is incapacitated and wakes up in hospital. While wearing a 'respectable' blue hospital gown, Skulduggery wears a pink one decorated with bunnies and elephants for the doctor's amusement. Skulduggery turns the lifeless Grotesquery over to the Sanctuary's top scientist to take apart, however, the Grotesquery has already absorbed a lot of power from Vile's armour and Valkyrie's blood, and so wakes up in the middle of the night whilst being operated on. He kills the scientist's assistants and goes after Valkyrie. Skulduggery and Tanith arrive and the three of them attack the Grotesquery before escaping. Meanwhile, members of Sanctuary's all across the world are being murdered by assassins to distract people from Vengeous's plan. Billy-Ray Sanguine has also released Springheeled Jack from prison and sends him after a Sanctuary official in London. After discovering that he is being manipulated by Vengous in a plan to bring back the Faceless Ones, Jack kills his victim. Skulduggery works out that Vengeous is actually a pawn in someone else's plan and accuses Thurid Guild of being in league with this mystery benefactor. In a rage, Guild fires Skulduggery who decides to go after Vengous anyway. Valkyrie begrudgingly goes to her family reunion as a distraction to Dusk. The Torment, meanwhile, has discovered that Valkyrie is alive and goes after her only to be confronted by Skulduggery and Tanith Low. The Torment transforms into a giant spider but Skulduggery and Tanith defeat him nevertheless. Valkyrie is subsequently attacked by vampires and forced to flee. Dusk corners her and vows that when he has transformed her into a vampire he's going to set her loose on her parents while in her bloodlust. Valkyrie stabs Dusk in the leg with the syringe he uses to curb his vampiric side whilst he is transforming, and as a result, he is caught between vampire and human and put in intense pain. Springheeled Jack comes and rescues her and defeats Dusk so as to frustrate Vengeous's plans because he doesn't want the Faceless Ones to return. Meanwhile China is attacked by Vengous in an underground carpark. The dark wizard brutally murders China's bodyguards and viciously beats her unconscious before taking her to Clearwater Hospital, his headquarters. Accompanied by Tanith Low, Mr Bliss and some Cleavers, Skulduggery and Valkyrie go to Clearwater Hospital and do battle with the Grotesquery which due to being part Faceless One is virtually invincible. Mr Bliss is incapacitated but the Cleavers mercilessly attack the Grotesquery and almost overpower it when Vengous arrives along with China whom he has taken captive and together with the Grotesquery he kills the Cleavers and beats Skulduggery and Valkyrie into submission. Valkyrie tricks Vengous into releasing her, saying that she will join him but she releases China who attacks Vengous and the Grotesquery, giving Valkyrie time to free Skulduggery who joins in the assault against Vengous, tearing off his helmet and his breastplate before shooting him in the stomach. In a swoon, Vengous crawls toward the Grotesquery but his god callously breaks the Baron's neck. The Torment subsequently arrives and attacks the Grotesquery but he is defeated and almost killed. In the ensuing battle Valkyrie stabs the Grotesquery through the heart, killing it but before it dies it utters a terrible scream. Sanguine is then seen meeting his mysterious master who reveals that he had never expected the Grotesquery to succeed but he knew that when it was vanquished, the beast's dying scream would alert the Faceless Ones spirits as to the whereabouts of the Earth meaning that all he has to do now is open the door. The mysterious man then pays Sanguine and takes his leave. Valkyrie is later seen talking to Skulduggery on a pier. They reason that they must find out who Vengous and Sanguine were really working for and if Thurid Guild is in league with him. Skulduggery ominously tells Valkyrie "Bad things are coming." They are subsequently attacked by a vampire and the book ends with them going into battle once again. pt:Skulduggery Pleasant: Playing with Fire

The Shaving of Shagpat

fantasy

Shibli Bagarag, a Persian barber, and Noorna, an enchantress, are given the quest of shaving the tyrant Shagpat, who by the power of his magical hair holds his city in thrall. Along the way Shibli acquires a magic sword and meets a series of exotic creatures, including a talking hawk and several genies. The second paragraph of the book provides a capsule summary of the story: "Now the story of Shibli Bagarag, and of the ball he followed, and of the subterranean kingdom he came to, and of the enchanted palace he entered, and of the sleeping king he shaved, and of the two princesses he released, and of the Afrite held in subjection by the arts of one and bottled by her, is it not known as 'twere written on the finger-nails of men and traced in their corner robes?"

The Forest House

fantasy

In the early days of the conquest, when the Roman Legions are aggressively persecuting the Druids, the sanctuary of the Goddess on the isle of Mona is destroyed and its Druids are murdered and its priestesses are raped. The raped priestesses that conceive children kill all of the girl children but leave the boys alive that are born and then kill themselves rather than live with the atrocities done to them; the males later became a rebel group known as the Ravens, which swore vengeance against Rome. Lhiannon, one of the remaining priestesses, re-establishes a new sanctuary at Vernemeton (Most Holy Grove), or The Forest House, which is partially controlled and protected by the Romans. The novel tells the story of Eilan, granddaughter of the Arch-Druid of Britain. She hears the calling of the Goddess and is chosen to become a priestess at Vernemeton, and later to succeed the dying Lhiannon as High Priestess. However, before her calling, she hears the voice of her heart, and during the magic night of Beltaine, conceives a son with Roman officer Gaius Macellius, son of the high-ranking Camp Prefect at nearby Deva. Gaius is an inheritant of royal blood through his Celtic mother of a southern tribe, the Silures. Eilan knows their son, Gawen, whose bloodline comes from the Dragon (Celtic royalty), the Eagle (Roman Empire), and from the Wise (Druids), will play a crucial role in Britain's future, and makes great sacrifices to protect him in his youth. A major shift in the balance of power is in the air; Eilan senses that the death of her peace-loving Arch-Druid grandfather will cause it. She tells her friend Caillean (who was rescued from her uncaring mother in Hibernia by Lhiannon) to take a group of young priestesses to the isle of Avalon to found a new sanctuary and become the first high-priestess of Avalon. In Vernemeton, Eilan is increasingly pressured by the new Arch-Druid, her father, to stop promoting peace and collaboration with the Romans. In a dramatic showdown she sacrifices herself (along with her love Gaius) to avoid a bloody insurgency and, in particular, to save the life of her son Gawen.

Vision of the Future

fantasy

Admiral Gilad Pellaeon admits that the Empire, down to only a few sectors, is now fighting a losing battle. He initiates preliminary peace talks with Princess Leia, who acts as the New Republic representative. However, several Imperial officials are vehemently anti-surrender, the most notable being Moff Disra. He hires a con artist, Flim, to impersonate Grand Admiral Thrawn, the idea being that Imperial Forces would rally, and many systems would rejoin the Empire, due to Thrawn's "returning from the dead." Another Imperial plot is underfoot, to provoke civil war in the New Republic, involving the Caamas Document. Caamas was a world destroyed by the Empire shortly after the Clone Wars, and it is revealed in the book that this was made possible by Bothan sabotage of that planet's planetary shield. Various alien races take sides over treatment of the Bothans and what would be justice for Caamas; more than a hundred alien warships gather in orbit over the Bothans' homeworld of Bothawui. Several of this book's plotlines revolve around major characters seeking an unaltered copy of the Camaas Document, in an attempt to settle the issue. Han Solo and Lando Calrissian travel to an Imperial base at Bastion in an attempt to find it. Meanwhile, Garm Bel Iblis attempts a raid on an Imperial Ubiqtorate base at Yaga Minor. The Empire hopes that the confrontation over Bothawui will reach a flash point, and three Imperial Star Destroyers lie in wait to 'finish off' the survivors. Furthermore, an Imperial sabotage team successfully knocks out a major section of the Bothawui planetary shield. Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade successfully sneak into a fortress called the Hand of Thrawn (so called because of its 'four fingers and a thumb' shape). Many secrets are revealed there, including mention of an expedition by Thrawn to the galaxy's Unknown Regions. Luke and Mara are about to die, when Luke proposes to Mara, she accepts. They escape and at the end of the novel, a peace treaty is signed by Admiral Pellaeon and New Republic president Ponc Gavrisom. fr:Vision du futur

Oath of Swords

fantasy

This novel begins when Bazhell Bahanakson is an exchange hostage in Navahk. While taking the back way out of the palace to meet his friend Brandark, he hears screaming. When he investigates he finds a hradani woman named Farmah being raped by the crown prince Harnak. He attacks Harnak and frees Farmah, smuggling her out of the city with the help of another servant woman, Tala. He sends the women towards Hurgrum, then strikes off in another direction, hoping to draw pursuit away from them. Brandark joins him and together they set off east to try to find work. Unfortunately hradani are not popular in other lands, and they are unwelcome most places they go. The wealthy dwarven merchant Kilthandaknarthas (Kilthan for short) hires them as caravan guards and they travel with him for some time, beating back several attacks by a group of assassins called the Dog Brothers, who are connected to Sharna's church. Harnak, who has been secretly worshiping Sharna (a practice that would be punished by death if he were ever discovered), is the one who arranged for the dog brothers to be sent after Bahzell, though Bahzell and Brandark do not yet realize this, because as long as Bahzell is alive he is a threat to Harnak's position. Eventually Bahzell and Brandark leave Kilthan in a city called Riverside. They stay there for a while, trying to find jobs. Bahzell finds a job as a bar bouncer but was fired after another assassination attempt failed. While walking to the inn where he and Brandark were staying, he again hears screaming, and follows it into an alley where he rescues a noblewoman from the Empire of the Spear named Zarantha. She tells the city guard that she is his employer, saving him from jail. He and Brandark agree to help her, her servant Rekah and her armsman Tothas, who is unwell, to get home. Brandark, with Zarantha's help, begins writing a song in honor of Bahzell, called the Lay of Bahzell Bloody Hand. As they travel there are more attacks by the Dog Brothers. They also encounter more divine intervention in their trip, which Bahzell resents, culminating in a personal appearance by Chesmirsa, the Singer of Light, in an effort to recruit Bahzell for her brother Tomanak. Bahzell, like most hradani, wants nothing to do with any gods, none of whom have done anything for his people in living memory, though Tothas, a follower of the war god tries to convince him otherwise. Shortly after that divine visit Rekah is badly hurt and Zarantha is kidnapped. Tothas explains the background that they had not shared with the hradani before: Zaarantha is a powerful mage, who was sent to be educated in the Empire of the Axe because without proper training Spearman mages generally died before they came into their talents. She plans to set up a mage academy in her native land to give her countrymen the training they need. Someone doesn't want her to make it. She has been kidnapped by dark wizards, who plan to kill her, allowing them to harness her life energy for a magical working. They would prefer to take her home first, as they will get more out of the working if they do it on her own soil. The hradani leave Tothas and Rekah behind, and set off after Zarantha. They meet up with Wencit of Rum, who aids them in the successful attack on the camp. Zarantha was badly hurt in the mind and Wencit needed someone to draw off the army that would chase them. So Bahzell volunteered, and Brandark followed, unwilling to leave his friend. Meanwile, Harnak and the church of Sharna in Navahk have decided this has gone on long enough. They use a human sacifice to raise a demon, which they send after Bahzell, and to enchant a sword to allow Sharna himself to reach through the bearer and strike directly. The demon catches up with Bahzell and Brandark as they flee. Bahzell wins, with Tomanak's help, and finally agrees to take sword-oath as a champion of Tomanak. He and Brandark once again run, eventually entering the lands of the half-elven Purple Lords. Bahzell's compulsion for rescuing people leads him to interfere with a Purple Lord who is in the middle of throwing an entire village out into the wilderness for being short of rent. He kills the Purple Lord, and instructs the townspeople to blame everything on a band of invading hradani to draw the pursuit. Harnak, who is carrying the cursed sword, is also following them, and the Purple Lords end up tracking him, believing him to be the one who killed the lord of the village. Harnak eventually catches up with Bahzell and the two of them do battle. The battle however, is not only between them, but also between Sharna—who has opened a portal to his realm, through the sword, in order to strike out at Bahzell—and Tomanak who fights against him through his champion. Bahzell eventually defeats Harnak. Brandark fought the prince's entire guard, all of whom had been in the grip of the Rage, and was mortally wounded. Calling out to Tomanak, he demands to know why his friend must die. Tomanak tells Bahzell that he can heal Brandark through Bahzell, if he can see Brandark as fully healed. Bahzell is successful and Brandark's fatal wounds heal, leaving him alive and recovering, though missing an ear and two fingers. The two companions then travel to Bortalik Bay, where they receive a message from Zarantha that she is safe and well and that her father has adopted the two hradani, offering them any assistance that her house can provide. Bahzell gets them passage on a ship manned by Marfang Island halflings, and they set off for Belhadan.

Daughter of the Forest

fantasy

From the novel's jacket: “Lord Colum of Sevenwaters is blessed with six sons: Liam, a natural leader; Diarmid, with his passion for adventure; twins Cormack and Conor, each with a different calling; rebellious Finbar, grown old before his time by his gift of Sight; and the young, compassionate Padriac. But it is Sorcha, the seventh child and only daughter, too young to have known her mother, who alone is destined to defend her family and protect her land from the Britons and the clan known as Northwoods. For her father has been bewitched, and her brothers bound by a spell that only Sorcha can lift. To reclaim the lives of her brothers, Sorcha leaves the only safe place she has ever known and embarks on a journey filled with pain, loss and terror. It seems there will be no way for her to break the spell that condemns all she loves. But magic knows no boundaries, and Sorcha will have to choose between the life she has always known and a love that comes only once.” Sorcha, the seventh child of Irish Lord Colum of Sevenwaters, has been raised almost entirely by her six older brothers. Having lost her mother at birth, Sorcha is more or less completely ignored by her father. When her father's new wife, the Lady Oonagh, attacks Sorcha and her brothers, Sorcha alone is able to flee into the forest and escape. Sorcha's brothers, however, have been turned into swans. What follows is a twist on the classic tale of "The Six Swans." Sorcha learns that if she can spin six shirts from starwort, remaining absolutely silent until the last one has been completed, she can free her brothers from Oonagh's spell. Sorcha agrees to this and spends several years in the forest, hiding from Oonagh as she works on the shirts. At first she survives in the Forest, relying on the help of the Fair Folk and her only companion—Cormack's dog, Linn. Her brothers are able to visit her twice a year as humans as she labors on her task, which is to make shirts out of starwort, a needle-like plant whose touch is poison and disfigures the hands. One day, she is found and raped by several brutal men, who are led to her by the village idiot who thought she was a faery. They also kill Linn, and her brothers find her weak and bleeding. Padriac heals her while three of her other brothers, (including formerly peaceful Finbar), go out and kill her rapists with the help of the Fair Folk. After several years of solitary struggle, Sorcha is saved from drowning by a British lord, Hugh of Harrowfield (a.k.a. "Red"). When Red returns to Britain, Sorcha unwillingly accompanies him. Red correctly believes that Sorcha has information concerning his brother, Simon, whom Sorcha had nursed back to health after Simon's capture by Lord Colum. Sorcha remains with Red as she continues to work on the shirts. Though under Red's protection, Sorcha encounters a new danger in the form of Lord Richard, Red's uncle and the one who has been attacking Sevenwaters. Sorcha must fend off the attacks of Richard even as she continues silently working to save her brothers. Though she earns true friends in John, Ben, and John's wife Margery, the majority of Red's household believe her to be a witch, and they play cruel tricks on her. As the days go by, Red and Sorcha gradually fall in love, though they are separated by his need to find Simon and her fear of men after her rape—as well as her belief that he only loves her because the Fair Folk bound him to her as her protector. While his marriage to Elaine, who is Lord Richard's daughter, draws nearer (they had been engaged since before Red and Sorcha met) and while Elaine is kind to Sorcha, Lord Richard continues to constantly threaten her. Then, Red takes Sorcha off to the shore, where only he and Simon ever went, and proposes to her, asking him to marry him and telling her that he's canceled his marriage with Elaine. She is fearful that he will try to claim his rights as a husband, but he assures her that, if she wants, the marriage will be only in name and that it will protect her. He gives her a ring and then leaves to search for Simon and find out the truth about Lord Richard's involvement in his brother's capture. One summer, in Harrowfield when Red is still gone, Sorcha meets with Conor, her brother. She was spotted meeting him at night, and everyone accuses her of adultery, since she is married to Red. Because of this crime Red's uncle turns everyone against Sorcha and decides to burn her at stake. On the day the shirts are finished, all six swans come flying to her. Red returns home, and is outraged when he sees Sorcha tied at the stake. Unable to speak, Sorcha quickly throws the finished shirts on her brothers, but because she did not have time to finish one of the sleeves Finbar is cursed with one wing. Her brothers are extremely protective of her, and declare her marriage to Red invalid. They refuse to allow her to be alone with him until Sorcha insists on it herself, and she is the one to tell Red good-bye, believing that he will forget her once she is gone and still under the delusion that he only loves her because of the Fair Folk's intervention. He lets her go, and Sorcha and her brothers return to Sevenwaters, where they find it a mess. Some peasants recognize them and inform them that their father is not well, and they hasten to the palace, where Donal, the former leader of the King's armies who was fired for letting Simon escape, informs them that Lady Oonagh has disappeared. The family slowly rebuilds Sevenwaters, and Sorcha finds out from the Lady of the Forest that Red was under no spell, and that he truly loved her. This causes her much pain until one day, he shows up and declares that he has abdicated his rule and wants to stay with her, and Sorcha kisses him so passionately that she makes Liam, her eldest brother, blush. Almost all of the mysteries are solved, except for their half brother (the son of Lord Colum and Lady Oonagh). Two of the brothers set out to find this brother, while Conor travels aways with the Druids. The seven children of Sevenwaters separate to lead their individual lives. Liam stays with Sorcha in Sevenwaters, and Finbar disappears in the waters, leaving only a feather behind. = Characters in "Daughter of the Forest" =

Enchantment

fantasy

The protagonist and narrator is Ivan Smetski, a young Ukrainian-American linguist who specializes in Old Church Slavonic, a language from 10th-century Russia. In 1992, Ivan returns to his native town of Kiev to pursue additional graduate studies. While there he discovers the body of a woman, apparently sleeping in the woods. He awakens her with a kiss, and she tells him, in Old Church Slavonic, that she is Katerina, a princess of the kingdom of Taina. Transported back to the 10th century, Ivan follows Katerina back to Taina where he finds the Christian kingdom terrorized by the traditional Russian arch-villainess Baba Yaga. Ivan and Katerina marry and escape back to the 20th century to avoid the machinations of Baba Yaga, who has enslaved a god and laid claim to Taina's throne, and the druzhinnik Dimitri who covets the throne. Baba Yaga's magical powers, however, allow for her to follow Ivan and Katerina to modern times. Back in the Ukraine, Ivan discovers that his cousin is in reality the immortal god Mikola Mozhaiski. Returning to the United States, Ivan further discovers that his mother is a magic user, with the same powers as Katerina. After Katerina discovers Dimitri's plot through scrying, Ivan and Katerina return to Taina, deftly avoiding Baba Yaga who magically "skyjacks" their intended 747 back to the 10th century. Returning to Taina, Ivan and Katerina confront Dimitri, the enslaved god, and Baba Yaga. Though the Castle of Taina is destroyed, the two emerge victorious, and return to the modern world to live.

Inconstant Star

fantasy

There are two parts to the novel, Iron, and Inconstant Star. In “Iron”, Saxtorph and the Rover, hired by the wealthy Crashlander Laurinda Brozik, set out to explore a newly discovered red dwarf star. When they arrive, they are challenged by a Kzinti warship. Separating the crew onto the shuttles, the Rover is captured and landed on one of the moons. The first shuttle sets on Prima, the first planet, and is held fast by a planet-sized organism that begins dissolving the shuttle. They broadcast for rescue, and are refused help by the Kzin. Meanwhile, helpless to rescue their friends, Robert, Dorcas, and Laurinda make a plan to steal a tug and escape back to friendly space with the news of the Kzin base. Dorcas pilots the tug, and takes out the ship guarding the ‘’Rover’’. Robert and Laurinda land, fight off a Kzinti shuttle, and recover the Rover. They are able to rescue Juan and Carita, and destroy the base with a guided asteroid. In “Inconstant Star”, Saxtorph and crew are hired by Tyra Nordbo to redeem her father’s honor, as he was accused of collaboration with the Kzin during their occupation of Wunderland. To do so, they must use notes he had left behind and follow a ship that had left 30 years prior to investigate a concentration of gamma rays. They travel to the coordinates, and find a massive artifact made of an unknown metal. A hole in the spherical artifact is pouring out lethal radiation. As the study it, they learn it is a weapon of the Tnuctip. It is a shell around a “captured” black hole, one that had been holed by a meteorite and is thus releasing the Hawking radiation. They then deduce the route of the original Kzin ship, and head off to the Father Sun, the star of the Kzin homeworld. En route, they locate the Sherrek, where Tyra’s father Peter had worked free of his Kzin captors. They rescue him and head back to the artifact. Another Kzin ship, Swordbeak, also finds the old ship. They, too, head to the artifact, and catch the Rover by surprise. Just when all looks lost, Robert and Dorcas conceive a plan to use the artifact's radiation against the Kzin warship. In a last act of defiance, a dying Weoch-Captain activates the artifact’s hyperdrive and heads out into unknown space.

Bridge of Souls

fantasy

Wyl Thirsk, former general of the Morgravian army and bearer of the curse known as Myrren's gift, is running out of time. Marriage between his beloved Queen Valentyna and his sworn enemy, the despotic King Celimus, is imminent; yet, despite the impending nuptials, war looms between the two nations, while the threat from the Mountain Kingdom grows stronger. Trapped in a body not his own, with his friends and supporters scattered throughout the realm, Wyl is as desperate to prevent the wedding as he is to end Myrren's "gift" -- a magic that will cease only when he assumes the throne of Morgravia. Clinging to an ominous suggestion from his young friend Fynch, an increasingly powerful mage, Wyl must walk his most dangerous path yet—straight into the brutal clutches of Celimus in a desperate attempt to save his nation, his love, and himself.

Jhereg

fantasy

The novel opens with a brief history of Vlad Taltos and a description of how he acquired his jhereg familiar, Loiosh. Despite being an Easterner in the Dragaeran city of Adrilankha, Vlad is a minor boss in the criminal activities of the Jhereg Organization. One day he is approached by an extremely powerful member of the Organization's ruling Council and offered an assassination job with a staggeringly large reward. The contract is to kill another Jhereg crime lord, Mellar, who has absconded with a fortune from the Jhereg treasury. Vlad accepts. Mellar has become the houseguest of the Dragonlord Morrolan e'Drien in his floating fortress, Castle Black. Vlad is a personal friend of Morrolan and has a standing invitation to Castle Black, which would make the assassination quite easy. However Morrolan holds fast to the Dragonlord traditions of hospitality, and will permit no harm to come to his guests for any reason. The last time a Jhereg assassinated a Dragonlord's houseguest, it resulted in a war between the two Houses that decimated both. Morrolan has invited Mellar to stay for seventeen days, but the Jhereg need the hit performed before that time. Vlad is forced to find a compromise between the interests of his House and his friend. Vlad's other friends, Aliera e'Kieron and Sethra Lavode, are more lax on the rules of hospitality and offer their help. Aliera wants to kill Mellar herself, as it is obvious to everyone, even Morrolan himself, that Mellar manipulated Morrolan and used the Dragonlord's honor as a shield against the Jhereg. This is a grave insult to the House of the Dragon. Sethra, the oldest and wisest of the group, agrees with Aliera's position, but feels that they must still respect Morrolan's wishes and find a way that will not violate his honor. While Vlad looks for a solution, the Jhereg come up with their own plan. The Demon first interviews Vlad to see if he would go along with it, and when it is clear to him that Vlad would not, he tries to have Vlad assassinated. Vlad manages to escape and guesses the Demon's intentions, but he is too late. He arrives at Castle Black to find Morrolan already assassinated. With Morrolan dead, Mellar would no longer be under his protection, and thus his death would not start a second Dragon-Jhereg war. Vlad foils this solution by breaking the enchantment preventing Morrolan's resurrection and has his friend brought back to life. The Jhereg, however, are undeterred. They would rather risk another Dragon-Jhereg War than allow Mellar's humiliating theft to become publicly known. An assassin descends on Mellar, but Vlad and his friends thwart him as well. On reflection, Vlad realizes that Mellar's bodyguards, who are always hovering nearby, were mysteriously absent during the attempt on his life. Vlad manages to deduce, with the help of some other information gathered by his second-in-command, Kragar, that it is Mellar's intention to be assassinated. Mellar is a half-breed—a mix of Dragon, Jhereg and Dzur—and intends, through his death, to get his revenge on all his parent Houses by causing two to erupt into war and leaking information that would forever shame the third. Having solved the mystery of Mellar's crime, Vlad finally realizes how to solve his own dilemma. With the help of nearly all of his friends, Vlad tricks Mellar into thinking he has killed Aliera, which would nullify his guest-rights with Morrolan. Mellar, believing his plan is ruined, flees Castle Black to avoid a purposeless death at the hands of the Jhereg. This actually takes him out of Morrolan's protection. Vlad follows him and engages the master swordsman in a duel. While near defeat, Vlad uses witchcraft to contact a nearby wild jhereg. With this second jhereg's help, Vlad kills Mellar, earning a vast bounty and saving two Houses in the same stroke. Rocza, the name given by Vlad to his second familiar, mates Loiosh.

Marlfox

fantasy

The wandering Noonvale companions travel to Redwall, where they wish to mount a show. on the way, however, they learn that the Marlfoxes will attempt to seize Redwall, and hasten onward to warn them, while Guosim from another part of Mossflower do the same. The Marlfoxes consist of High Queen Silth and her brood. They are different from other foxes in their fur, which gives them the ability to blend in to almost any surrounding, invisible to all but the keenest eye. This ability has given rise to the false rumor that the Marlfoxes possess magic, which they do not. However, Marlfoxes are highly agile and skilled with axes. Castle Marl, home of the Marlfoxes, is situated in the middle of an enormous inland sea, on the island that was once home to Badger Lord Urthwyte the Mighty. The Marlfoxes command a vast army of water rats, and they travel around the country seeking rare and priceless artifacts. The Marlfoxes, backed by an army of water rats, mount a successful invasion of Redwall and steal the tapestry of the long dead hero, Martin the Warrior. The Marlfox Ziral, however, is slain, and the remaining Marlfoxes swear revenge on the citizens of Redwall. Mokkan, one of the Marlfoxes, escapes with the tapestry, leaving his siblings behind. Three young Redwallers, Songbreeze Swifteye, Dannflor Reguba, and a Guosim shrew named Dippler set out after Mokkan, trying to retrieve the tapestry. They meet Burble, a water vole, and have many adventures and meet many friends who help them on their journey, such as the ginormous hedgehog Sollertree,who lost his daughter Nettlebud to the Marlfoxes and water rats, and the Mighty Megraw, a large osprey who used to live by the Marlfox island but was driven away in an ambush by magpies. Meanwhile, the remaining Marlfoxes lay siege to Redwall. After a series of battles, Songbreeze's father Janglur Swifteye, Dannflor's father Rusvul Reguba, Cregga Rose Eyes, and many others fight off the remaining army, killing the remaining Marlfoxes and restoring peace to Redwall. In a discrepancy the rats were divided into eight groups, but one group was sent each way. Song, Dann, Dippler and Burble meet some new friends and set out into the great lake to the island. Mokkan finds that Silth has been killed by one of his sisters, Lantur. He promptly kills her by pushing her into the lake, proclaiming himself King. However, the companions arrive and overthrow the water rat army. Mokkan escapes in a boat, but an escaped slave, whom we find out is Nettlebud, throws a chain at him and knocks him into the lake, where he is eaten by pike. The surviving water rats are left on the island to become peaceful creatures and farm the land, and the companions return home to Redwall, where Songbreeze Swifteye is named Abbess and Dannflor Reguba is named Abbey Champion by Cregga Rose Eyes, Redwall's blind badgermum. Dippler is named Log-a-log, and Burble is named Chief of the Watervoles. At the end of the novel is a note, stating that the entire tale was made into a drama, edited by one Florian Dugglewoof Wilffachop.

Wildwood Dancing

fantasy

One winter, Jena's father sets out to the coast to recover from a serious illness that would kill him if he remained home for the winter. In his absence, he leaves his house, his younger daughters, and his half of the merchant business he and his cousin run in the hands of Jena, and her elder sister Tatiana (called 'Tati'). It is when Jena's father's brother Nicolae dies, that things begin to go wrong for Jena and her sisters: Cezar uses his newfound power of being master of his father's estate to take a firm control over the castle in which Jena and her sisters live. Every full moon, the sisters go to the Other Kingdom, where they meet and dance with various magical creatures. Eventually, Cezar becomes so bent on revenge for the death of his older brother Costi (who drowned ten years prior to the book) that he suggests felling the forest around both his and his cousins' estates. In distress, Jena attempts to dissuade him from doing so. She also attempts to prevent Tati from seeing her Sorrow, her sweetheart, who Jena believes to be one of the Night People. In an effort to persuade her sister that it is not meant to be, Jena enlists the help of Bogdana, Nicolae's widow, to organise a party to find suitable husbands at the next Full Moon. Jena and her younger sisters are all upset that they will miss the Full Moon dance, but none so much as Tati; she rapidly loses weight, and her personality fades into almost non-existence. Meanwhile, there was a killing in the village, which had all the markings of an attack of the Night people; reluctantly, Jena tells her sister of what Tadeusz had told her about Dark of the Moon at one of the Full Moon revels. Tati decides to use this portal at Dark of the Moon, where Jena discovers her with Tadeusz's sister, Anastasia. Frightened, the sisters are separated, and Anastasia takes Jena (unwillingly) to see Draguţsa's mirror. In the mirror, Jena learns of Sorrow's true heritage, as well as sees a vision of herself and a young man that she would come to love; the young man in this vision then changes into a horrible monster, turning on Jena's younger sisters. Frightened, Jena flees back to the lakeside, where she meets up with Tati and Sorrow. Sorrow then sends the girls over the frozen lake and back to their own world, where they decide to visit the Dancing Glade the next month to both warn the Queen of Cezar's intentions, and ask if she could help Sorrow, and the girl who was revealed to be his younger sister. After miserably failing to propose to (and being rejected by) Jena, Cezar works out that the entrance to the Other Kingdom is indeed in the bedchamber that Jena and her sisters share. Desperate for help, Jena sets out to the lake where Costi drowned, to seek out Dragutsa. She speaks to the old woman for a little, before she is given a powerful sleeping potion to put both the man and the chaperone to sleep on the night of the full moon. As Jena leaves, she gives Gogu a kiss on the nose; a bright flash throws both her and the frog apart. When she can see again, she finds a young man on the shore of the lake, whom she instantly knows to be Gogu; she also recognises him as the young man in the mirror, who turns into a monster. She realises that, despite knowing what he is, she loves him, and when he gives no answer, she runs away back home. As planned, the sisters drug the man and chaperone in their bedchamber, and seek the help of the faerie Queen. Ileana tells Tati that she has set Sorrow a quest, to be completed within one month; if he succeeds, they will be allowed to wed, and Tati to live in the Other Kingdom. Gogu is also there, and the faerie Queen reveals that he was bound by a spell of silence, giving him his voice back. Gogu then reveals to Jena that he is Costi, which she denies; however, Dragutsa later reveals that this is true. She had placed the boy under and enchantment to turn him into a frog. She then revealed that it was Jena's doubt that allowed Anastasia to manipulate the image in the mirror; Costi was not a monster, and Jena had broken his heart by claiming that he was, instead of trusting him. Costi returns the next day and takes over his father's estate, and Cezar disappears; however, Jena is too nervous and guilty to speak to Costi. Eventually, Tati convinces her to go visit him and, on the day of the Full Moon, she does. She and Costi work out their misunderstanding, and return to Jena's home, where they take Tati to an injured Sorrow to take to the Other Kingdom. Eventually, life returns to normal, though they miss Tati. Jena's father returns home, and Jena and Costi look forward to their impending marriage.

The Pillars of Creation

fantasy

Jennsen Rahl, Richard Rahl's half sister, has spent the first twenty years of her life running from her father, Darken Rahl. Born without any aspect of the gift of magic, Jennsen has been marked for death since birth. When her mother is apparently murdered by D'Haran assassins she sets out with her new friend, Sebastian, to start her life over. Sebastian eventually reveals that he is a spy for the Imperial Order. He speaks convincingly of the Order's goals concerning the fair treatment of all humanity and the elimination of magic. Above all else he esteems Emperor Jagang. In equal measure he despises Richard Rahl, who he claims has brought on war with an invasion of the Old World after bringing down the Barriers separating the sections of the known world. Meanwhile, another sibling of Richard's, Oba Rahl, suffers under an abusive mother on the family farm. Oba imagines himself as energetic and the possessor of a healthy curiosity. His inquisitive nature manifests itself especially through pleasure in watching things die under his hand. Oba does not know that he, along with Jennsen, is pristinely ungifted and immune to magic. His mother sends him to a nearby sorceress to buy medicine and during the purchase he begins to menace the magic user. Her attempts to defend herself with magic fail and Oba kills her brutally. During the fight Oba surrenders to a voice in his mind that promises invincibility in return for obedience. After returning home Oba kills his mother and resolves to see the world. He can travel comfortably with the funds he looted from the sorceress. Jennsen wants to find another sorceress, sister of the one Oba killed, and who had previously helped Jennsen and her mother. Along with Sebastian she travels to the People's Palace, capital of the D'Haran empire. There she learns that the sorceress she seeks lives in a deadly enchanted swamp. After Sebastian is detained by D'Haran guards, a friendly stranger, Tom, helps a desperate Jennsen to the swamp. She safely reaches the sorceress' home, her natural immunity to magic protecting her through the swamp, but only learns that nothing can be done to save her from Lord Rahl. She leaves, disappointed and upon returning to the People's Palace cleverly rescues Sebastian. He convinces Jennsen that she should visit Emperor Jagang, leader of the Imperial Order. Oba is also aware of the second sorceress and the fact that she knows something concerning his fate or nature. He hires a guide to the swamp, which he safely negotiates as well. The sorceress reveals that Oba is now a thrall to the Keeper of the Underworld and kills herself before Oba can do the deed. This, along with the fact that his guide has stolen all his money, enrages Oba. He is mollified somewhat by the treasure he finds in the sorceresses' cottage but his rage returns when, after returning to the People's Palace, he spots his guide. After killing the guide he is briefly jailed but escapes, using the voice in his mind to make the D'Haran guards do his bidding, and resolves to locate Richard Rahl. Jennsen and Sebastian reach Emperor Jagang at the van of the army of the Imperial Order. Though initially shocked by the crude Order soldiers, she is advised not to be so picky and that the D'Harans are even worse. The day after her arrival the Emperor Jagang assaults the Confessor's Palace but is bloodily repulsed. Emperor Jagang is severely injured in the action. Even worse for the Order, their enemy unleashes an ancient magic on the main army, wreaking immense destruction. Jennsen reacts by making a pact with a dark force, the Keeper, to kill Richard Rahl in return for her surrender and obedience. Oba captures Kahlan and is ordered by the Keeper to take her, along with the Sword of Truth to the Pillars of Creation. Using his link to the sword, Richard pursues Oba to the Pillars, where he encounters Jennsen, who has also been drawn to the same spot by the Keeper in order to kill Richard. The Keeper's supreme plan, however, was for Richard to kill Jennsen at the Pillars of Creation thereby opening a gate between the Keeper's realm and the world of the living. Richard discerns the plan and refuses to be goaded into cooperating. Jennsen then recognizes his integrity and the Keeper's plan is foiled. Jennsen learns that the men who were sent to kill her mother were actually soldiers of the Imperial Order, and after coming to believe that Richard is truly a loving and caring brother, she joins him and Kahlan in their quest against Jagang.

The Leap

fantasy

Everyone says that Max has drowned, but Charlie thinks differently: she was in the mill-pool with him, and knows exactly what she saw. When she begins to see him in her dreams, her hopes are raised. It seems the reunion she craves is possible. But where exactly is Max leading her? And will she be able to return?

Marianne Dreams

fantasy

Marianne is a young girl who is bedridden with a long-term illness. She draws a picture to fill her time, and finds that she spends her dreams within the picture she has drawn. As time goes by, she becomes sicker, and starts to spend more and more time trapped within her fantasy world, and her attempts to make things better by adding to and crossing out things in the drawing make things progressively worse. Her only companion in her dreamworld is a boy called Mark, who is also a long-term invalid in the real world. Marianne Dreams was first published by Faber and Faber in 1958, and was first printed in paperback by Puffin Books in 1964. It was illustrated with drawings by Marjorie-Ann Watts. Catherine Storr's later novel Marianne and Mark was a sequel to Marianne Dreams. It is thought that the house that Marianne dreams of is based on a house in the village of Avebury, Wiltshire. This house looks as if has been drawn by a child, with small, very high up windows. All around the house are the menacing prehistoric standing stones of Avebury Stone Circle.

Every Inch a King

fantasy

The book centers around Otto of Schlepsig, a circus performer and tightrope walker, who is surprised to learn that he's an almost dead-ringer for Prince Halim Eddin, recently invited to become king the newly independent country of Shqiperi. Fed up with his life in the circus, Otto, and his friend, the sword swallower Max of Witte, get some uniforms and set out to take the Prince's place as King of Shqiperi.

Dark River

fantasy

In Dark River's prologue, it is revealed that there are hidden caves beneath the moorland. Fallen Leaves, a mysterious cat not seen before in any of the books, enters this cave, meeting a misshapen, old cat by the name of Rock, who explains to him that to be a sharpclaw (an equivalent to the Clans' warriors), he must find a way out of the tunnels and onto the moor. Unfortunately, when Rock asked if it would rain, Fallen Leaves said no, because he was afraid that Rock would make him wait until another day if he said yes. Fallen Leaves enters the tunnels and is trapped in the tunnels then when it does rain he is trapped and drowns and never comes back out ever again. He later helps Jaypaw get out in the end of the book. Also ThunderClan medicine cat apprentice Jaypaw finds a washed-up stick when he is out gathering herbs with his mentor, Leafpool. It has odd scratches on it; some that are crossed out and some that aren't. He doesn't know why, but the stick feels very important to him, to the point that he half drowns himself to save it from the depths of the lake. As he struggles to figure out what it means, he has a dream in which he experiences what Fallen Leaves experienced. Jaypaw then understands what the scratches mean and that the last uncrossed one was Fallen Leaves' mark. Cinderpaw then falls from the Sky Oak, breaking her back leg. He soon discovers that his mentor, Leafpool, is determined to save the apprentice's leg. As the medicine cat's determination begins to border on an obsession, he begins to wonder why. One night, he falls asleep by Cinderpaw and he wakes up in a strange forest. There he meets Cinderpaw, unhurt, who leads him to a camp filled with familiar smells; ThunderClan's previous home in the forest. Cinderpaw describes how she once lived there before the Great Journey and asks Jaypaw to tell Leafpool that she is proud of her, and that she has learned far more than she could have ever taught her. By then Jaypaw is officially confused, but when looking into Cinderpaw's eyes, he sees a series of flashbacks from her previous life. Jaypaw realizes that when Cinderpelt, the former ThunderClan medicine cat, died in Twilight she was reincarnated as Cinderpaw, without Cinderpaw herself knowing it. Jaypaw tells Leafpool what he has discovered and his mentor agrees with him. However, when Cinderpaw wakes she doesn't remember the dream (only that Jaypaw had been able to see in it). Lionpaw becomes best friends with Heatherpaw, a beautiful WindClan apprentice, and begins meeting her at night. Hollypaw discovers their secret and Lionpaw begins to be wary of his "nosy" sister. Afterwards, Heatherpaw and Lionpaw begin meeting in hidden tunnels that no Clan cat has ever seen before (the same tunnels that Fallen Leaves drowned in). They name their play Clan DarkClan, of which 'Heatherstar' is leader and 'Lionclaw' is deputy. They meet together every night they can. Tigerstar, who meets Lionpaw in ghostly apparitions, like he did to Hawkfrost and Brambleclaw, starts teaching him additional battle moves that even his mentor, Ashfur, doesn't know, though Brambleclaw seems to recognize them. When Lionpaw starts to teach the moves to Heatherpaw, Hawkfrost scolds him for showing battle moves to the enemy, and under pressure, Lionpaw must choose between his love of Heatherpaw, and loyalty to the warrior code and ThunderClan. He chooses to remain loyal to his Clan and leaves Heatherpaw, who is extremely hurt and betrayed, though she understands his decision in the end. During a Gathering, RiverClan reveals that their Clan is facing a "small problem" and that they are being forced to live on the island for a short while. Though Leopardstar is fiercely protective of her Clan and refuses to elaborate, Hollypaw knows something is not right, because her friend Willowpaw and the rest of RiverClan are acting extremely nervous. She informs Firestar about her concerns. However, he does not believe this is ThunderClan's problem and refuses to take action. He and the rest of the Clan continue preparing for a battle against WindClan even though it is not certain that a battle will ever occur. Hollypaw heads out to RiverClan on her own. When she arrives, Willowpaw shows her how Twoleg kits (children) are attacking their camp. Hollypaw is kept with RiverClan so she cannot tell anyone about their secret because they think she is a spy. However, her brother Jaypaw has a dream that reveals her location, and Squirrelflight comes to retrieve her. Near the end of the book, all three stories combine: Jaypaw and Leafpool must go to WindClan to take Onestar a message from Firestar about not shedding unnecessary blood in a battle over something that may never happen, while Hollypaw convinces Mousefur and Firestar to do something. When they arrive, Gorsetail's (a WindClan queen) kits (Sedgekit, Thistlekit and Swallowkit) are missing and WindClan blames RiverClan, saying that there will be a battle if RiverClan does not return the kits. Jaypaw and Leafpool return to camp and Lionpaw tells his brother and sister about the tunnels, where he thinks the kits may have gone. They enter the caves, meeting up with the WindClan apprentices Breezepaw and Heatherpaw, who share their motive for being there. Jaypaw is guided by the spirit of Fallen Leaves and the group find the kits behind a boulder that blocked the tunnel. It starts raining and the tunnel floods, but Jaypaw figures a way out just in time and they return the kits, saving the Clans from an unnecessary battle. The tunnel is blocked during the flood, and Lionpaw states that it ended the most important friendship he ever had.

Soul of the Fire

fantasy

Continuing on from Temple of the Winds, we begin the story after Richard and Kahlan's wedding in the village of the Mud People. Strange deaths and the appearance of a 'chicken-that-isn't-a-chicken' leaves Richard fearing the worst. Zedd confides in Richard that the chicken is a Lurk sent by Emperor Jagang's Sisters of the Dark. According to Zedd, the only way to destroy the Lurk is by smashing a bottle from the Wizard's Keep in Aydindril with the Sword of Truth. However, Zedd is actually lying. He has surmised that a terrible magic known as "the chimes" has been released. The chimes will eventually drain all magic from the world of the living, beginning with the additive magic. This would cause death to beings that require magic and possibly cause the destruction of the world if additive magic were to completely fail. Zedd determines that he must find a remedy and wants Richard and Kahlan safely out of the way while he does so. Richard, Kahlan and Cara, unaware of the truth, set out to accomplish the task of breaking the bottle. Meanwhile, Zedd and Ann set off in separate ways. Zedd recalls some lore that relates the chimes to Anderith and he travels there to attempt to banish the chimes. Ann infiltrates the Imperial Order in order to save the Sisters of the Light under Jagang's enslavement. However, the Sisters of the Light betray Ann to Jagang because they fear the wrath of Emperor Jagang, causing Ann to be captured. Elsewhere, we are introduced to the Machiavellian politics of Anderith. Both the Anders, black-haired people who govern the city, and the Hakens, red-haired people under the boot of Ander oppression, occupy Anderith. From an early age Hakens are kept under control and disrespected by the Anders and are taught that this oppression is a necessity to protect the Hakens from their violent ancestral ways. Most Hakens have bought into this idea and willingly subject themselves to the oppression. Anderith is being wooed by the Imperial Order in the person of Stein, who personifies the savage ruthlessness of Jagang's empire. Stein offers double the going rate for any goods that merchants, all of the Ander race, will sell to the Imperial Order. He also plots with the Minister of Culture, Bertrand Chanboor, to surrender Anderith to the Order. They begin infiltrating Imperial Order soldiers into Anderith under the guise of Special Anderian Troops. Dalton Campbell, aide to the Minister of Culture, has a hand in most events within the Anderith nation. He uses his connections, along with his squad of messengers, to accomplish underhanded tasks to ensure that the Minister will ascend to the chair of Sovereign (a religious position similar to the real world pope) when the present one passes on. Dalton treasures his wife Teresa above all else. A kitchen scullion, Fitch, is recruited into the messenger corps by Dalton. Though he has conflicting goals and values, Fitch's gratitude towards Dalton results in blind obedience and he smothers his conscience to accomplish Dalton's bidding. Ultimately Dalton betrays Fitch, who is forced to flee. Fitch determines to redeem himself by becoming the Seeker of Truth, a longtime fantasy of his. The first step to becoming Seeker is to obtain the Sword of Truth. We are also given a glimpse at the Anderith Army, which is seriously under-trained and little more than children. The Anderith Army guards the Dominie Dirtch, a defensive line of giant bell-shaped structures, seemingly made from a solid piece of dark-veined stone, which kill anything in front of them when struck. Elsewhere, Richard realizes the chimes are, in fact, loose, and so he sends Cara to Aydindril to retrieve the Sword of Truth while Richard, Kahlan and Du Chaillu (Richard's first "wife" and spirit woman of the Baka Ban Mana) head to Anderith to banish the chimes. Richard also deduces that the army of the Imperial Order is marching on Anderith. If the Imperial Order conquers Anderith it will be a continuing imminent threat to the rest of the midlands. Arriving in Anderith first, Zedd attempts to banish the chimes by offering them his soul. This is the cause of the chimes' presence: they don't have souls, and when Kahlan summoned them she promised them Richard's soul. However, it is not Zedd's soul the chimes want. When Zedd's attempt fails, he undergoes a transformation, becoming a raven. Richard and Kahlan arrive in Anderith and set out to look for the chimes but also work on joining Anderith with the D'Haran Empire. Word spreads and a vote is taken. While Richard makes a good plea to the people of Anderith, Dalton Campbell's interference sways the vote, leaving Richard defeated. At the same time, Kahlan struggles with the knowledge that she is with child, and the trouble that will come because of it. Meanwhile, Ann finds the captive Sisters of the Light and persuades them to come with her. Since magic is failing, Jagang's abilities as a Dream Walker are null, and Ann informs the Sisters of a bond to Richard, the Lord Rahl, that can keep them safe from the Dream Walker. However the Sisters, fearful of retribution by Jagang, betray Ann to the Imperial Order. She is left in her tent by herself when Sister Alessandra, a Sister of the Dark, begins visiting her and bringing her food. She attempts to sway Alessandra, at first to no avail but with success in the end. Dalton Campbell, along with help from a Sister of the Dark, sets a group of his messengers on Kahlan when she is off by herself pondering on whether or not to keep Richard's child. She is beaten nearly to death, but she is saved by Richard, who at first doesn't recognize her. When he finally does however, he realizes that he will be unable to heal her unless he manages to banish the chimes first. Cara almost obtains the Sword of Truth, but is beaten to it by Fitch and his friend, Morley. A combination of sheer dumb luck and the fact that the Chimes have deactivated the Wizards' Keep defenses and killed many of its guards allow Fitch and his accomplice to easily obtain the Sword. Cara gives chase and kills the friend before chasing Fitch back to Anderith. When she catches him at the Dominie Dirtch she loses the sword when Imperial Order scouts attack. The Order's soldiers collect the sword as a prize for Stein to present to Emperor Jagang. Around this time, Dalton Campbell manages to murder the Sovereign, instead of waiting for the feeble figurehead to pass naturally. This immediately pushes Bertrand Chanboor to the rank of Sovereign. The empowered Chanboor consummates his promotion by sleeping with Dalton's wife, Teresa. Dalton pretends not to be disturbed by this betrayal and even seemingly "joins" the web of infidelity by sleeping with both Teresa and Chanboor's wife in turn. In reality, however, Campbell is livid and even kills the Imperial Order emissary, Stein, (who had "shared" Teresa with Chanboor) gaining possession of the Sword of Truth in turn. Having studied the actions of Joseph Ander, the ancient founder of Anderith, Richard comes to realize that the chimes and the Dominie Dirtch are connected. More specifically, Richard comes to understand that Joseph Ander enslaved the Chimes using them to power the Dominie Dirtch. Richard finally comes to understand that by using art as a form of intent he can alter the Grace and create a new pathway for magic. Thus Richard counters the magic Ander used to enslave the Chimes and calls them forth giving the chimes a choice: The Soul, his soul (which they were promised by Kahlan) or revenge on the spirit of Ander for enslaving them. The chimes choose vengeance, taking Ander to the underworld. Once he is successful in banishing the chimes, Richard sets off to heal Kahlan but is stopped by Du Chaillu, who tells Richard that his healing powers would kill her due to a hidden subtractive magic spell that has been placed within her. Alessandra eventually frees Ann, reverts her faith back to The Creator and gives her oath to Richard. The pair soon sets off out of Anderith, and when Zedd's soul is returned to his body with the banishment of the chimes, he also departs. Richard decides to leave for Westland, where he plans to let Kahlan recover from her wounds naturally. Dalton Campbell sees them off with his apologies and informs Richard that Campbell, Chanboor, and both of their wives have become stricken with an "unfortunate", incurable venereal disease and have doomed themselves to a slow, agonizing demise. He returns the Sword of Truth to Richard before they set off. Richard claims he will wait in Westland until the people of the world can prove to him that they truly desire freedom.

The Goose Girl

fantasy

The book centers around the Crown Princess Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee of Kildenree, a small kingdom with more powerful neighbors. As a child she bonds with her aunt, who becomes her nursemaid and constant companion. She tells Ani, as the Princess is soon nicknamed, stories about three gifts certain people have: people-speaking (the power to manipulate people and persuade them in your favor), animal-speaking (the ability to communicate primarily with animals, using their sounds) and nature-speaking (the ability to communicate with certain elements, which the aunt says is very rare). The aunt goes on to say that Ani’s mother, the Queen, has the gift of people-speaking, as do many monarchs; she also says that she herself has the gift of animal-speaking. Though when Ani asks what gift she might have, her aunt says that it is still to early to tell. The aunt however soon returns to the forest, and Ani's mother, the queen, keeps Ani from using her gift of animal-speaking, for she thinks the people will not trust her if she communicates with beasts. Later, it is revealed that the aunt died that winter. The book then jumps ahead to when Ani is fifteen or so. Her lady-in-waiting and close friend Selia, whose mother is the key-mistress, has the gift of people-speaking but is still kind. However, Ani’s inability to be sociable and perfect like her mother is soon revealed to the reader. She seeks solace in her horse, Falada, whom she can communicate with through mental communication, and goes out riding with her father the King, who is easier to get along with, but he soon dies, assumedly leaving Ani the throne. But after the funeral Ani’s mother proclaims that her eldest son, Ani’s younger brother, is inheriting the throne. She then reveals to Ani that, behind her and her father’s back, she engaged the girl to the Crown Prince of the neighboring powerful kingdom of Bayern, and that Ani is to travel there to marry him. Ani feels betrayed and even more isolated but complies. So Ani sets out through the forests to Bayern, with an entourage of guards and Selia. However, Ani observes odd activity between Selia and a guard Ungolad. Mutiny eventually ensues while Ani is absent from camp, but still watches the exchange. The mutineers, led by Selia and backed by most of the guard, decide to kill the Princess and replace her with Selia herself. Ani is forced to flee and leave behind Falada and her remaining supporters. After days in the woods, Ani collapses in the garden of a Bayern woman named Gilsa. Gilsa says that she doesn't want to know Ani's story, preferring not to get mixed up in it, so Ani assumes the identity of “Isi”, a forest-born who comes, along with others, to the Bayern capital to find work tending to animals in the capital; she adopts a Bayern accent, hides her hair (blonde, as compared to the browns and blacks in Bayern) and tells stories to her fellow animal-workers. She tends to the geese, which she can communicate with, along with a boy named Conrad, and discovers that she also has the gift of nature-speaking, with the wind. Among the many she befriends is a Royal Guard named Geric, who she talks to while out in the fields. However, her secret is discovered by her friend Enna (see "Enna Burning"), and later she is spotted in a festival by her erstwhile guards. Later, after literally being stabbed in the back by Ungolad she flees back to Gilsa, who fixes her up again and sends her back to the capital. In the time she was gone Enna was forced to reveal Ani’s secret, and as the wedding between the Prince and Selia, who had been leading the King of Bayern to believe that Kildenree was about to launch a surprise attack on the much stronger country of Bayern, and so the military is preparing to attack before Kildenree can, is about to take place, they ride to the castle it is to take place in. She confronts Selia and learns that the 'Guard' Geric is actually the Crown Prince, so the Bayern party retires and Selia and Ani talk. However, before Selia’s now-lover Ungolad can kill Ani, Geric and the King, who had been eavesdropping behind a curtain to figure out who was the real princess was, intervene and a fight between Ani and the King’s supporters (her Forest friends and his Guards) and Selia’s supported (Kildenree’s Guard) ends in Geric and Ungolad being stabbed and Selia almost escaping. Days later, after things quiet down and Geric recovers, Ani is called to prove that Kildenree is not planning an attack on Bayern. She quickly dismisses the “proof” they have and, smarting from the accusations, goes on to show them the injustice and segregation that she had witnessed while tending to the King’s geese, and leaves them astounded. Geric later finds her on a balcony; they kiss (having fallen in love while both were lying about their true identities), and the book ends with Ani’s Forest friends rejoicing on being finally recognized as official Bayerners.

Clash Of The Sky Galleons

fantasy

The story is set aboard the Sky pirate ship The Galerider. Wind Jackal wants revenge against his previous quartermaster, Turbot Smeal, for burning down the Western Quays in Undertown along with most of Wind Jackal's family. Meanwhile the Leagues of Undertown begin making preparations for war with the sky pirates. The Galeriders crew encounter several dangerous traps as Wind Jackal carries out his quest to find Smeal. The crew of The Galerider are puzzled but it soon becomes clear, as it turns out in the end that the alleged Turbot Smeal was an imposter, greater and far more envious. Eventually in the end, only Wind Jackal, Quint, Tem Barkwater and Spillins the Oakelf remain of the original crew. They come to the wreck of a skyship and meet a man in a skullpelt mask who claims to be Turbot Smeal. Wind Jackal and 'Turbot Smeal' have a duel and Wind Jackal is killed. The man reveals himself to be one of the crewmembers, Thaw Daggerslash. The truth is revealed at the end of the book. The book features a massive sky battle between the Leagues of Undertown and the Sky Pirates. The Climax comes when the Leagues launch the Bringer of Doom.

Dead Gods

fantasy

Dead Gods is composed of two adventures which revolve around the theme of death and resurrection of a god: "Out of the Darkness" and "Into the Light". Each adventure can be played separately, although the two plots can be woven together by the Dungeon Master. "Out of the Darkness" consists of nine chapters. Long ago, Orcus the tanar'ri lord of the undead had grown fat and inattentive towards his realm in the Abyss. The minor demipower Kiaransalee, drow goddess of vengeance, conspired against Orcus and slew him, supplanting his realm and position and even banishing his name across the planes. Orcus’ corpse lay dead on the Astral Plane for some time, until he began to stir in the not-so-distant past. His form changed to become thin, small and shadowy, but rather than being truly restored to life he had become an undead god much less powerful than before. Orcus eventually disappeared from the Astral and chose a new name for himself: Tenebrous. He sought to gain revenge on everyone in the multiverse, and raised his former demonic servants as undead called visages to gather information to aid in his vengeance. He returned to an old base of his, a fortress on the Negative Energy Plane, and on the plane of Arborea he found a magical force called the Last Word which was potent enough to slay even a god. Kiaransalee had sent two of her drow followers to bury his powerful artifact, the Wand of Orcus, in an unreachable vault of stone on the plane of Pandemonium. In his search for his Wand, Tenebrous used the Last Word to slay Primus, the lord of the modrons, and using Primus's form he began using the modrons to search for his Wand. When the modrons discovered the two drow who had buried the Wand, Tenebrous began making preparations to take back the Abyss. The player characters must follow the clues to discover Tenebrous's scheme and keep the Wand away from him long enough for the power of the Last Word to consume him; if they succeed, the characters must then stop one of Orcus's followers from reviving his corpse on the Astral Plane yet again, to conclude the adventure. "Into the Light" consists of three parts, and takes place in the city of Sigil. Many years ago, the last worshippers of a dead god brought the pieces of his body from the Astral Plane to Sigil and used the body to construct a monument of five standing stones. Some time later, when the significance of the monument had been forgotten, adherents of another religion built a temple around the standing stones; in time, this religion died out and was forgotten too. This church stood vacant for centuries until bought by a wealthy man named Cruigh Manathas, who ordered his workmen to tear it down. The workmen disappeared one day – unknown to all, they had been absorbed into the standing stones, as were those who came to investigate what happened to the workmen. Secretly, a fighter named Argesh Fiord has been in control of the situation and is using it in an attempt to foment a war between some of the city's factions in revenge for the death of his wife. The player characters must uncover Fiord's plot in order to resolve the matter and prevent the war.

Conan of the Isles

fantasy

When King Conan is in his mid 60s, the kingdom of Aquilonia is attacked by Red Shadows, sorcerous sendings of unknown origin. To track them to their source and eliminate the threat, the king abdicates in favor of his son Prince Conn and takes ship for the far west with his old comrade Sigurd of Vanaheim. The quest takes them to the islands of Antillia and into conflict with the wizard priests of the dark god Xotli. The book ends with Conan literally sailing off into the sunset: "A few hours later, the great ship, which the folk of Mayapan were to call Quetzlcoatl – meaning 'winged (or feathered) serpent' in their uncouth tongue – lifted anchor. She sailed south and then, skirting the Antillian Isles, into the unknown West. But whither, the ancient chronicle, which endeth here, sayeth not."

Storm Warning

fantasy

When Storm Warning begins, we meet Emperor Charliss, the Eastern Emperor (first mentioned in Winds of Fury). He knows he is dying and must name a successor. Grand Duke Tremane, a Commander in the Army, is currently his favorite choice. Tremane is sent to Hardorn, a country the Imperial Army recently invaded after the Hardornen King, Ancar, was killed by a group of assassins from Valdemar. Tremane understands that he must succeed in this mission or he will be killed. Meanwhile, in Haven, the capital city of Valdemar, An'desha shena Jor'ethan, a young Shin'a'in Adept, is feeling lonely. While Adept Firesong k'Treva, his lover, is perfectly at home in Haven, An'desha feels left out and alien. He spends almost all of his time in Firesong's ekele, an environment something like a cross between a sukkah and a treehouse and something like the flets of the elves in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, where he meditates and tends the plants in the garden. However, he has been having premonitions of approaching doom. Neither he nor Firesong can explain these premonitions. Also, An'desha has an Adept-class (the highest level of ability of magic) potential, but refuses to be trained, believing his powers to be tainted by Falconsbane, by whom An'desha was earlier possessed. Ambassador Ulrich of Karse has been sent with his assistant, Karal Austreben, a novice Sun-priest, to negotiate peace between Karse and Valdemar. At the border, a single escort arrives, who seems to Karal to be some sort of Court official dressed in white and mounted on a white stallion; he later discovers this man is a Herald. As they ride north, Karal examines himself and his attitudes towards the people of Valdemar and the Heralds. Karsites are taught to fear the Heralds and Mages, who are said to have "witch powers". On their arrival in Haven they are greeted by the Seneschal, Lord Palinor, Kyril, the Seneschal's Herald, and Prince-Consort Daren. Karel is glad of the rest, but as the weeks pass, begins to feel lonely. Talia, the Queen's Own Herald, introduces him to An'desha. Karal and Ulrich, much to Firesong's chagrin and jealousy, help An'desha to become less afraid of his power, as well as to become more independent.

The Eternal Lover

fantasy

A cliff-dwelling warrior of 100,000 years ago, Nu, is magically transported to the present, falls in love with Victoria Custer of Beatrice, Nebraska, the reincarnation of his lost lover Nat-ul, and the two are transported back to the Stone Age. The story is set in Africa, and the present-day sequences guest star Victoria's brother Barney Custer, protagonist of Burroughs's Ruritanian novel The Mad King, as well as his iconic hero Tarzan from his Tarzan novels.

Threshold

fantasy

Set in the Egypt-like kingdom of Ashdod and primarily narrated by the glass-working slave Tirzah, the novel takes place during the final stages of the construction of the titular Threshold, an enormous glass-clad pyramid. Designed by the Magi, an order of mathematically-obsessed sorcerers, it is meant to open a gateway into Infinity, allowing the Magi to pass through and unite themselves with the One, an abstract proto-Platonic ideal of perfection. When the pyramid is activated, however, it instead allows the demonic entity Nzame to cross from Infinity into Ashdod, taking control of its people and turning most of the land into stone and black glass. Among those who escape are Tirzah, who is secretly a "cantomancer," able to communicate with the spirits of objects, principally those of glass, and her former master, the conflicted Magus Boaz, who may hold the key to the destruction of both Nzame and Threshold. Characters Tirzah Magus Boaz

Forsaken House

fantasy

Araevin Teshurr is an elven mage who spends time with a company of human and dwarven adventurers. Upon returning to the elves' secluded home of Evermeet, he becomes embroiled in a deadly attack perpetrated by a group of outcast demon-elves, freed from their 5,000-year imprisonment and seeking revenge. While searching for a trio of mysterious magical stones, Araevin must convince the elves to end their isolation from the rest of Faerun, and band together with the other races to prevent the demon army from overrunning the world.

In the Empire of Shadow

fantasy

A group from this world is trapped in a science fiction universe. Before the galactic government will send them home, they must agree to travel back to the fantasy universe first, in order to assess the power of the evil wizard who runs the place and any potential risks posed to the galactic empire.

Indiana Jones and the Peril at Delphi

fantasy

After a brief flashback to 1920, with a glimpse of Indiana Jones as a college student in Chicago, the novel moves to its main setting. The year is 1922. Indy is a graduate student in Paris, studying linguistics and Greek archaeology. Although his greater talent currently seems to be for the former, he begins to wonder if he might be better suited for a different career after he receives a surprising invitation from his professor. Following an archaeology lecture to her class on the Greek city of Delphi, Professor Dorian Belecamus announces that she will be leaving the university for the rest of the semester in order to return to Delphi to oversee the recovery of an archaeological find, discovered recently in the wake of an earthquake in the region. After class, to Indy's surprise, she privately invites him to join her on the journey as her assistant, telling him that he is her best student and that she feels he could be very helpful on the expedition. After some consideration, Indy decides to accept the professor's offer in the hopes that assisting in such an exciting undertaking may very well lead him to a more intriguing and adventurous career than world of linguistics may have to offer. He, of course, has no idea exactly how true those ideas will prove to be as he embarks on a journey filled with mysterious figures, deceptive intentions and a lot more waiting for him Delphi than he ever expected.

Shadows Return

fantasy

After their victory in Aurënen, Alec and Seregil have returned home to Rhíminee. But with most of their allies dead or away, it is difficult for them to settle in. Hoping for diversion, they accept an assignment from queen Phoria to go to Seregil's homeland and call Klia to Skala. En route, however, they are ambushed and separated, and both are sold into slavery to the Plenimarans. There they are bought by the alchemist Yhakobin who hopes to use Alec's Hâzadrielfaie blood to create a rhekaro, a sexless creture that can heal everything and prolong life. The first doesn't meet his expectations and he has it butchered. By the time he makes a second one, Seregil and Alec escape, the first with the help of a servant woman and the second by picking his lock. Knowing that the rhekaro will die without his blood and reminding himself of the Dragon Oracle's prophecy, Alec takes him along, while Seregil brings his betrayer, Ilar í Sontir, to show them a secret tunnel. The atmosphere is initially tense when Alec finds Ilar's identity and Seregil, too, has doubts about the uncommon-looking child, but they fare well for several days, with Alec's hunting skills and the food they had stolen. Later, the rhekaro, whom Alec names Sebrahn, shows extraordinary healing powers, which they use to get rid of their slave brands so that they are not found out by other slavers. Near the port they are found by their former master. Ilar flees in panic, but Alec and Seregil stand firm. The archers target Seregil but Alec jumps in front of him and is killed. Anguished, Seregil kills Yhakobin before Sebrahn starts singing and kills the soldiers. His tears then fall on Alec's wound and create the white blossoms that the alchemist had been trying to create and brings him back to life. During this time Alec's shade quickly finds Thero and directs him and Micum to Seregil. Thero helps them they continue their journey, but they are soon found by a necromancer, presumably sent to retrieve the rekharo. When Thero can't stop him, Sebrahn sings again and kills him. To gether they get aboard and head for Aurënen. On their landing, Magyana lays eyes upon the child and says she sees the a dragon in his aura.

Fortune's Fool

fantasy

Fortune’s Fools is a story involving Ekaterina (Katya), youngest daughter of the Sea King and Prince Sasha of Led Belarus, seventh son of King Pieter. The novel starts with Katya being sent by her father to investigate rumours of bad news on the island of Nippon. Unlike the majority of Sea People, Katya is magically amphibious and is used by her father to spy on Drylanders (humans). Due to tasting dragon’s blood, Katya is able to speak with animals and is also able to speak and understand foreign languages. In Nippon, Katya is able to help a kitsune stop an evil sorceress from conquering the island and gains a valuable gift. The gift is a origami crane that can be sent to pass messages to people Katya knows or magically target someone who she needs. The Sea King sends her on another reconnaissance mission to Led Belarus, under the suspicion that it is too quiet and is a target for evil forces. Katya finds out that Prince Sasha is using his powers as a Seventh Son, a Fortunate Fool, and a Songweaver to subtly manipulate the Tradition into making Led Belarus a peaceful and prosperous kingdom. As the pair has no royal duties to fulfil, they decide to spend time with each other and fall in love. Soon Katya is sent on another mission, to investigate the disappearance of magical maidens near the castle of the Katschei. In disguise, Katya is kidnapped and taken to the castle by a Jinn. Since he has taken over the castle, the Tradition forces him to kidnap young woman, the Jinn uses that to his advantage and kidnaps magical girls so he can take their magic. Although the Jinn is able to sense when the girls use magic, Katya tries to convince the others to escape. She sends out her paper bird to seek help from the nearest Champions. When no sign of Katya arrives, Sasha decides to go after her despite not knowing her location. On the guidance of some witches, Sasha travels to the forest where Baba Yaga resides because she has something he needs. Sasha pretends to be a deaf-mute and becomes Baba Yaga’s temporary servant. Baba Yaga sets him up with the task of cleaning her stables where he meets Sergi, the Humpbacked Horse and frees him along with Baba Yaga’s steed, a Wise (intelligent) goat, and her tracker, a Wise Wolf. During the escape, Sasha ends up in the Kingdom of the Copper Mountain and is able to convince its Queen to help him. She sends him towards the Sea King and the Sea King sends him to two Dragons, the champions who found Katya’s bird. Meanwhile, Katya and the growing number of girls are able to work out they can use the Law of Names to re-seal the Jinn into his bottle. However finding the bottle itself proves difficult in a castle guarded by men and the Jinn himself. Sasha and the dragons, Gina and Adamant, try to work out a plan to save the girls and stop the Jinn. The trio also manage to convince the Queen of the Copper Mountain to lead them aid. Using Sergi as a messenger, the captives and the rescuers are able to work out a plan of attack. Katya sends the girls to escape via tunnels dug by the Copper Mountain subjects and sets out to confront the Jinn with help from the dragons and Sasha. The battle becomes a stalemate until the Queen appears to lend them the power of Earth. Katya seals the Jinn in his bottle and has Sergi send him back to the City of Brass. In the epilogue of the story, the castle of Katschei becomes the Belarus Chapter of the Champions Order of Glass Mountain. The majority of the cast are affiliated with the order and spend their time living happily ever after.

R-T, Margaret, and the Rats of NIMH

fantasy

When two children named Margaret and Artie are lost during a camping trip, they are found by the colony of rats, specifically one named Christopher. The children help the rat community with various tasks, and Artie and Christopher become very close friends. However, when winter comes, the rats cannot shelter the children and must send them back. The children try to keep the secret of Thorn Valley, but after pressure, Margaret ends up revealing it. The story ends with a party of adults traveling to Thorn Valley to discover the rats' colony only to discover an empty, apparently uninhabited plot of land with all traces of the colony removed. The whereabouts and fate of the rats of NIMH are left unstated, though Artie did find a gift from Christopher, a picture of an arrow, presumably pointing to the new location of the colony.

Secrets of the Clans

fantasy

There is no actual plot to the book, as it is a field guide, but it has several mini-stories within it as well as a tour around both the forest and lake camps of the Clans, guided by one of the warrior cats, and the ceremonies for different positions, as well as general guides. The beginning of the book tells the story of how the Clans came to be in the first place. This section describes that before the Clans it was every cat for themselves. Then the members of the dead come and visit the living cats, telling them to unite or die. Four cats named Thunder, Wind, River, and Shadow volunteered to be leaders of a single Clan, but they were so different that they became four different Clans. The tale forgets to mention a cat named Sky, but this was probably because Firestar's Quest hadn't been released yet. The section of the Cats in the Clans begins with the leader of the Clan at the time of publication saying something about their Clan, followed by a short fact file, a map and guided tour of both territories, a short story narrated by one of the cats, and the significant leaders and medicine cats of the Clan. In the case of StarClan, there is a brief guide as to what a cat must be to get into StarClan and the story of Snowfur, Bluestar's sister. For the groups that cannot be classified as Clans (SkyClan not included), there is little more than a fact file featuring Clan character, habitat, their version of leader and deputy, and notable history, as well as a short story about it. There is also a quick guide to all of the loners, rogues, and kittypets featured in the Warriors series. This group of sections features a quick guide to both the habitats (forest and lake) of the Warrior cats, as well as Fourtrees, Highstones, the Moonpool, the Island, sun-drown-place, and a story of how the Moonstone was discovered. This section features what happens in the ceremony to initiate a new cat of a certain position, using a specific cat as an example, including how they felt about becoming that position. It also features all of Firestar's nine lives and a guide to all of the medicine cat herbs. In this section, we learn that the Warriors have a small mythology featuring three Clans with wild cats: LionClan, TigerClan, and LeopardClan (actually cheetahs). There is the story of how LeopardClan won the river, how the snakes of Sunningrocks came to the forest, and how TigerClan got their stripes. There are general guides as well, such as a guide to the prophecies in the Warriors series and other, non-prey animals that inhabit their homes.

The Last Olympian

fantasy

In order to try to head off Kronos' approach by sea, Percy and Beckendorf attempt to destroy his ship, the Princess Andromeda. However, Kronos, still possessing Luke Castellan, is not caught off guard, and Beckendorf sacrifices his life to destroy the ship, while Percy dives overboard and passes out from contact with Kronos' scythe when battling him on the ship. Percy is awakened by his half-brother Tyson, the cyclops. He finds that he is in his father Poseidon's underwater palace, which is under siege by the forces of the Titan Oceanus. Percy wants to stay and help fight with his father, but Poseidon sends Percy back to Camp Half-Blood. At Camp Half-Blood, Chiron decides it is time for Percy to hear the "Great Prophecy." Percy informs the camp that there is a spy among them, someone who has been informing the Titans for years, but they put it aside until the bigger issues at hand are dealt with, such as the impending war against Kronos. Soon after arriving, Percy leaves again with Nico di Angelo, son of Hades, to find out Nico's plan for Percy to survive the battle, as mentioned at the end of The Battle of the Labyrinth. After visiting Luke's mother in Westport, Connecticut, and talking with Hestia, goddess of the hearth and home, Percy procures a blessing from his mother, which will allow him to descend into the Underworld for the second time. Here, Nico betrays Percy for information on his past, but then helps Percy to escape from confinement. The two boys then follow through with the original plan, which was for Percy to bathe in the River Styx and gain Achilles' power. Percy emerges from the Underworld in New York City, leaving Nico behind. Percy calls Annabeth and tells her it's time for the battle to begin. The campers, alongside Chiron, arrive and Percy organizes them (minus the Ares cabin, who refused to fight), and prepares them for an urban battle. They enter Olympus through the Empire State Building to prepare and meet Hermes, who is furious with Annabeth. He believes that she could have stopped the war by helping Luke before he was possessed, saying he would have listened to her. Before the battle begins, New York City is silenced by way of a powerful sleeping spell from Morpheus, the god of dreams, that puts all mortals to sleep. Despite being joined by the Hunters of Artemis; satyrs; naiads; dryads and other tree nymphs; Chiron's centaur cousins the Party Ponies, automatons fashioned by the late Daedalus; and the hellhound Mrs. O'Leary; Percy's forces are consistently forced back by sheer numbers. Kronos is not without losses, as Percy buffets the Titan Lord's brother, Hyperion, into submission, from where Grover's nature powers encase the Titan of the East in a massive maple tree. Annabeth is badly injured when she saves Percy from a blade thrown by Ethan, son of Nemesis, that would have hit Percy in his Achilles point and would have most likely been a fatal injury. Percy tells Annabeth this, informing her that his weak spot is the small of his back. Upon falling asleep, Percy has dreams of Kronos questioning Ethan about where Percy's Achilles spot was, but Ethan doesn't know. Rachel, a mortal who can see through the Mist, flies from a family island vacation to New York to tell Percy that he is not the hero of the Great Prophecy, and that it will influence his choice when he turns 16. More than that, she doesn't know who the hero mentioned in the Great Prophecy is. She also informs Percy that the Titans have a monster on their side that only a child of Ares could destroy, but the Ares cabin remains at camp. The monster arrives, and the campers learn that it is a drakon, a monster similar to, but more destructive than, a dragon. Right when all hope seems lost, an unknown camper posing as Clarisse tries to slaughter it but is badly wounded. The real Clarisse arrives on a flying chariot and kills the drakon by herself. The campers find out that the first "Clarisse" was Silena. She admits that she pretended to be Clarisse because that was the only way she could convince the rest of the Ares cabin to come and fight. With her last few breaths, Silena confesses she was the spy all along. She dies a hero, and not a traitor. Driven back to the blocks surrounding the Empire State building, Percy and his friends fight in a last stand to protect Mount Olympus from the massive army Kronos has amassed. Even when Hades arrives with his army, Kronos still manages to break through and enter Olympus. Percy and Kronos, in Luke's body, battle in the throne room of Olympus, without either side gaining a significant advantage. Ethan rebels against Kronos at the last minute, trying to kill him, but his sword ricochets back into his stomach. With his dying breath, he tells Percy that minor gods deserve better before falling into a fissure created by Kronos. Luke is shocked back into his non-evil self when Annabeth helps him remember his promise of family to her when he brutally smashes her across the throne room. The Great Prophecy hinges on Percy's decision to give Luke Annabeth's dagger rather than attempt to kill Luke himself. Luke injures himself at his mortal point (under his left armpit) and uses all his power in one strike on Kronos. With his dying breaths, Luke tells Percy that the minor gods should also have cabins at Camp Half-Blood. Annabeth tells Luke that she loved him as a brother, but Percy was the one she had always and truly loved. Luke sacrifices himself for Olympus and becomes the hero of the prophecy. Percy becomes the half-blood of the prophecy that would "reach sixteen against all odds," ending the war on the dawn of his 16th birthday. With Poseidon ambushing Typhon at the Hudson River, the Olympians manage to defeat him. Returning to the throne room, they grant Percy, Grover, Annabeth, Thalia, and Tyson rewards at the conclusion of their various quests. Percy, refusing godhood for himself, forces the gods to swear on the River Styx that they will recognize all of their children by the time they turn thirteen, Luke's dying wish. At camp, new cabins are built for every god, including Hades and all the minor gods. Rachel Elizabeth Dare becomes the new Oracle and speaks the next Great Prophecy- Seven half-bloods shall answer the call. To storm or fire, the world must fall. An oath to keep with the final breath, and foes bear arms to the Doors of Death Athena promises Annabeth that she will be the architect that redesigns a decimated Mount Olympus. Grover becomes a Lord of the Wild and a member of the Council of the Cloven Elders. Tyson is rewarded as well, by becoming general of the Cyclopes' army and being given a "stick" (i.e. a new club). Percy is given the choice to become immortal, and a god, but he refuses. Afterward, Annabeth wishes Percy happy birthday and then kisses him. Percy gets the feeling that "my brain was melting through my body". The other campers spy on them and dumps them in the canoe lake. Percy and Annabeth kiss underwater, and from there, start a relationship. Soon after, they immediately start work on the new cabins, rejecting the "horseshoe" style arrangement of the twelve Olympian god's cabins and instead adding more and more. Chiron praises Percy towards the end of camp, and Annabeth and the other campers cheer him on. Percy silently meets again with Hestia, and she gives him a smile and a wink, showing that she is proud of her young nephew. Percy and Annabeth run into the mortal world with Percy narrating, "For once, I didn't look back."

Majo no Takkyūbin

fantasy

The book follows Kiki, a young witch. Her mother is also a witch, but her father is not. Kiki is now thirteen and must spend a year on her own in a town without other witches. She must use her magic abilities to earn her living. She is accompanied by her cat Jiji.

Deep Wizardry

fantasy

Nita's family goes on vacation with Kit and his dog, Ponch, to the South Shore of Long Island. One night, while Nita is swimming in the ocean, she finds a dolphin in the water. She greets it with The Speech, the magical language of Wizardry. The dolphin excitedly replies "A Wizard!" and swims away. Kit and Nita meet at the shore, and Kit tells of Nita of the rocks on a jetty; something bad is coming to the shores, and the rocks remember in fear. Kit and Nita go out the next night to search for the dolphin, much to the suspicion of Nita's parents. They prepare a spell to walk on the water. The dolphin finds them and tells them that a wizard is being attacked. They are carried by the dolphin to a nearby beach, where they see a pack of sharks attempting to devour a humpback whale wizard named S'reee, who is also being defended by a group of dolphins. Kit and Nita freeze the sharks, shielding S'reee and the dolphins, but later release the sharks at S'reee's request, since holding the shield would slowly suffocate them. Nita heals her, and Nita and Kit return to the beach house, exhausted, where they discover from their manuals they are on active assignment again. S'reee is in charge of organizing the Song of the Twelve, a gathering of wizards to play out the story of the time when the Lone Power, the source of all evil, tempted the sea creatures. As the story goes, three whales accepted the Gift, three were undecided, and three rejected it. A Tenth whale, the Silent Lord, was the final vote for all the whales. Instead of accepting, refusing, or not choosing, she killed herself, and was eaten by the Master Shark. This action bound the Lone Power for a time, and succeeding Songs have kept it bound. S'reee and the other whales are short of wizards willing to sing in the Song, and ask Nita and Kit to help. Nita volunteers herself to be the Silent Lord, as she doesn't believe she has a good singing voice. S'reee takes Nita and Kit with her to help find other whales for the upcoming Song. Nita, since she has shared blood with S'reee while healing her, turns into a humpback whale without external aids. Kit is given a whalesark by S'reee—a wizardly web which turns him into an enormous sperm whale. After their first day out in the ocean, Kit and Nita return home very late, and Nita's parents don't want them outside anymore. The next day, Nita and Kit use wizardry to sneak out of the house to help S'reee find more whales for the Song. Kit and Nita meet Ed'Rashekaresket (or Ed), the Pale Slayer, a shark who is to be present for the Song. Then, Nita discovers to her horror that the Silent Lord is actually eaten at the end of the Song; instead of just a play-reenactment, as she had imagined, the effectiveness of the wizardry requires the repetition of the sacrifice. Since Nita is sworn to the role, she cannot pull out, or the whole Song will be sabotaged, killing millions. Meanwhile, outside of Long Island, the sea floor is starting to act up, giving signs that the Lone Power's binding is weakening. Large krakens (mutated giant squids) are attacking the wizards underwater, and volcanic vents are increasing the temperature. Nita realizes that she can't back out of the Song now, because this destruction will eventually becomes large enough to destroy the entire Eastern Seaboard. Nita and Kit return to their home, very late at night. Dairine finds them, gives them their clothes (when they turn into whales, they can't be wearing anything) and allows them time to dry off and prepare an explanation for Nita's mom and dad. Nita and Kit, in the face of her parents' demands for an explanation, decide to reveal wizardry to her parents. Kit and Nita levitate and walk on water, but Nita's dad insists on hypnosis. Finally frustrated, Kit and Nita take them to the Moon - so they could see the Earth from above. This finally convinces Nita's parents to accept the fact of wizardry, and allow them to save the Eastern Seaboard. However, Nita doesn't tell them about her upcoming sacrifice. Their trouble with the parents now over, Kit and Nita go to bed to prepare for the singing of the Song. Dairine looks at Nita's Book, and discovers she can read parts of it - a sign she also has wizardly talent. Nita and Kit leave the beach house and meet S'reee, who takes them to the practice area for the Song. Nita meets the other whales in the Song, and talks to Ed about death. She realizes that Ed is the only creature in the ocean who is still alive from the first Song of the Twelve. The two become very unlikely friends. The procession (the ten whales including Nita and S'reee, Kit as security and Ed as the Master) start to descend into Hudson Canyon. They are relentlessly attacked by kraken and other monsters until they reach the site of the Sea's Tooth, the traditional place where the song is held. S'reee talks about how one Song went wrong, and a continent fell into the ocean; Kit and Nita realize she is referring to Atlantis. The Song goes decently, until one of the whales loses her will and succumbs to the tempting of the Lone Power. She escapes, but returns to allow the Krakens to attack the Singers. S'reee remakes the spell with Kit in the song. Nita goes to perform her sacrifice, but the Lone Power emerges from its binding as an enormous serpent. A fierce battle ensues. Kit reverts to whale speech, showing that the whalesark is in danger of failing. Ed asks Nita for her wizardry power; she gives it to him, and he finishes her part of the Song. He then attacks the Serpent, who wounds him. The Master Shark's blood in the water calls all the sharks in the area to him; they devour his body, and the Serpent, and the krakens. The Song is completed, and though unusually, it still binds the Lone One. Nita and Kit return to the beach house, exhausted. They promise to tell the story to Nita's parents as soon as they are better. Nita checks her manual, and discovers that a payment she and Kit owed to the Powers That Be was paid by the Life Service. She and Kit go out into the ocean one last time, and enter Timeheart: the center of the Universe, where no one dies. They get a last glimpse of Ed, before Kit asks for the Powers to bring them their next job. Nita agrees.

Debt of Bones

fantasy

During the war against D'Hara, a young woman meets with Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander, Wizard of the First Order in order to force him to pay a debt of bones he owes her and save her child. In so doing, she initiates the series of events leading up to the end of the war with D'Hara and the division of the Westlands, Midlands, and D'Hara by the boundaries.

The Once and Future King

fantasy

Most of the book "takes place on the isle of Gramarye", and it chronicles the raising and educating of King Arthur, his rule as a king, and the romance between Sir Lancelot and Queen Guenever. It ends immediately before Arthur's final battle against his illegitimate son Mordred. Though White admits his book's source material is loosely derived from Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur (The Death of Arthur), he reinterprets the epic events, filling them with renewed meaning for a world enduring the Second World War. The book is divided into four parts: *The Sword in the Stone (1938) *The Queen of Air and Darkness (1939) (published separately in somewhat different form as The Witch in the Wood) *The Ill-Made Knight (1940) (which is the longest book and focuses mostly on the character Lancelot) *The Candle in the Wind (First published in the composite edition, 1958) A final part called The Book of Merlyn (written 1941, published 1971) was published separately (ISBN 0-292-70769-X) following White's death. It chronicles Arthur's final lessons from Merlyn before his death, although some parts of it were incorporated into the final editions of the previous books. An often quoted passage from the book is the story that the badger calls his "dissertation," a retelling of the Creation story from Genesis.