The Master Of Whitestorm

This classic fantasy adventure from the acclaimed author of the Wars of Light and Shadow series “is storytelling at its best” (Raymond E. Feist, #1 New York Times–bestselling author). Chained at the oar on a Mhurgai galley, a sullen slave who never speaks is considered a madman by his fellow captives—until the hour Korendir announces a plan, which is certainly doomed to failure, for no one ever escapes the merciless Mhurgai alive . . . Korendir’s silence hides a devious intellect. And his benchmate, Haldeth, is desperate to end his cruel captivity, even if mercy comes to him under the murderous knives of the Mhurgai. When Korendir’s daring plan frees them both, Haldeth is compelled to follow his determined companion on an even more impossible quest: to lift a curse that despoils the kingdom of Torresdyr by recovering a legendary wardstone from a witch. His prize if he succeeds? A wizard’s treasure. If he fails? A grave with the legion of defeated champions before him. Far from content to retire from danger, Korendir’s restless nature will not embrace peace, his insatiable taste for impossible odds skating the thin edge toward insanity . . . “Powerful . . . Epic grandeur . . . Magnificent.” —Anne McCaffrey, New York Times–bestselling author “Feeling like an old-fashioned episodic adventure fantasy, the novel gradually reveals an underlying thread that explains the main character’s personality. Think Lethal Weapon in a complex fantasy setting.” —Tor.com “A large, varied, and original fantasy world, a unique magic concept, and a beautiful romance.” —Fantasy Literature

Chronicles the lifetime adventures of a mercenary hired out to resolve the increasingly difficult afflictions that beset his homeworld. From violent misfortune and escape from slavery, the tale follows the master through encounters with magic, towns beseiged by arcane monsters, armed forces, and curses.

A collision between contemporary poetics and the Renaissance lyric, between aestheticism and political engagement, The Master of Insomnia is a collection of Slovenian poet Boris A. Novak's verse from the last fifteen years, including numerous poems never before available in English. In these sensitive translations, Novak stands revealed as both innovator and observer; as critic Aleš Debeljak has written: "The poet's power in bearing witness to Sarajevo and Dalmatia, to his childhood room and his retired father, to the indifferent passage of time and the desperate pain of loss, confirms the melancholy clairvoyance of Walter Benjamin, who stated that what is essential hides in the marginal, negligent, and hardly observed details. Whoever strives to see the "big picture" will inevitably overlook the essential . . . [Novak's] wide-open eyes must watch over both the beauty of this life and the horror of its destruction."

BOOK ONE IN THE GROUNDBREAKING SERIES, THE WARS OF LIGHT AND SHADOW A powerful, layered weaving of myth, prose and pure imagination – Curse of the Mistwraith opens an epic fantasy series perfect for fans of The Dark Tower and Earthsea.

In this fascinating book, Brian J. Frost presents the first full-scale survey of werewolf literature covering both fiction and nonfiction works. He identifies principal elements in the werewolf myth, considers various theories of the phenomenon of shapeshifting, surveys nonfiction books, and traces the myth from its origins in ancient superstitions to its modern representations in fantasy and horror fiction. Frost's analysis encompasses fanciful medieval beliefs, popular works by Victorian authors, scholarly treatises and medical papers, and short stories from pulp magazines of the 1930s and 1940s. Revealing the complex nature of the werewolf phenomenon and its tremendous and continuing influence, The Essential Guide to Werewolf Literature is destined to become a standard reference on the subject.

"The Rider on the White Horse" begins as a ghost story. A traveler finds himself caught in dangerously rough weather. On an island just offshore he glimpses the specter of a rider on a white horse rising and plunging in the wind and rain. Taking shelter at a local inn, the traveler mentions the apparition, and the local schoolmaster volunteers a story. It is a tale of ambition, of a young man, Hauke Heien, who is out not only to make a name for himself but to remake the world; of love and family, as Hauke and his wife try to come to terms with their late-born child's mental retardation; and of politics, as the community fights back against Hauke's initiatives. It is a story, too, about the crisis of faith, of wanting and missing the presence of the divine, and of the persistence of superstition. It is an appealingly matter-of-fact picture of rural life, a harrowing glimpse of spiritual isolation, and a stark vision of the violence of the natural world. Finally, it is a story about the basis of civilization in the act of human sacrifice. Anticipating "Lord of the Flies" and "The Lottery," Theodor Storm's novella, limpidly translated by the American poet James Wright, is not just the ghost story it first appears to be but an economical and gripping dramatization of some of the bloody questions that haunt the disenchanted modern world.

A powerful, layered weaving of myth, prose and pure imagination – The Ships of Merior continues an epic fantasy series perfect for enthusiasts of The Dark Tower and Earthsea.

First in the classic Cycle of Fire trilogy from the acclaimed fantasy author: “An outstanding piece of work in every way.” —Andre Norton, New York Times–bestselling author Caught in an evil plot by a king’s emissary keen to seize power, Anskiere—master of wind, wave, and weather—submits to a false accusation of mass murder in order to spare the innocent village that sheltered him. When his desperate act of resistance traps him in a prison of his own making, Anskiere must rely on the undying loyalty of a young girl, her older brother’s obsessive quest for vengeance, and the weakling descendant of his greatest betrayer, once master of fire and earth, to thwart the ruinous ambition of his enemies. Together, the three will face a critical challenge: the rescue of Anskiere—and the unbinding of demons bent on humanity’s destruction. Praise for Janny Wurts “Janny Wurts builds beautiful castles in the air. . . . Every detail is richly imagined and vividly rendered.” —Diana Gabaldon “A gifted creator of wonders.” —Raymond E. Feist “It ought to be illegal for one person to have this much talent.” —Stephen R. Donaldson