A bold debut novel for fans of Emma Cline's The Girls and Edan Lepucki's California--a story of love, lust, and the spaces in between, from a "captivating" (NYTBR) new voice in fiction. It is 1950, and nine-year-old Willa's sheltered childhood is about to come to an end when her mother's beau arrives with his two sons to her family's summer home in British Columbia. As Willa's older sister pairs off with the older of these boys, Willa finds herself alone in the off-kilter company of the younger, Patrick. When, one afternoon, Patrick lures Willa into a dilapidated rowboat, Willa embarks upon an increasingly damaging relationship with Patrick, one that will forever reconfigure her understanding of herself. Demi-Gods traces the tumultuous years of Willa's coming-of-age as she is drawn further into Patrick's wicked games. Though they see each other only a handful of times, each of their encounters is increasingly charged with sexuality and degradation. When Willa finally realizes the danger of her relationship with Patrick, she desperately tries to reverse their dynamic, with devastating results. Daring, singular, and provocative, Demi-Gods announces the arrival of one of the most exciting new voices in contemporary literature.
A book of firsts! One epic collection containing the first book from three different New York Times #1 best-selling series by Rick Riordan. THE LIGHTNING THIEF: Zeus's master lightning bolt has been stolen and Percy Jackson is the prime suspect. He and his friends have ten days to find and return it and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. To succeed, Percy has come to terms with the father who abandoned him, solve the riddle of the Oracle that warns of betrayal by a friend, and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves. THE LOST HERO: Jason, Piper, and Leo find themselves at Camp Half-Blood where people won't stop talking about a curse and a camper named Percy who's gone AWOL.These three friends must rely on one another and their newfound demigod gifts as they embark on an epic quest to save Mount Olympus. THE HIDDEN ORACLE: Apollo, once the glorious god of the sun, music, and poetry, has been cast down to Earth in punishment by Zeus. Now, as awkward mortal teenager Lester Papadopoulos, he's been tasked with restoring five Oracles that have gone dark in order to regain his place on Mount Olympus. How is he supposed to accomplish that without any godly powers? He needs help, and a demigod named Percy Jackson shows him where to find it: at a training camp on Long Island called Camp Half-Blood. This primer of heroes and demigods will start readers on three unforgettable adventures. Bonus first chapters from two other amazing series promise more exciting journeys.
From the creator of Myths Retold comes a hilarious collection of Greek, Norse, Chinese and even Sumerian myths retold in their purest, bawdiest forms! All our lives, we’ve been fed watered-down, PC versions of the classic myths. In reality, mythology is more screwed up than a schizophrenic shaman doing hits of unidentified…wait, it all makes sense now. In Zeus Grants Stupid Wishes, Cory O’Brien, creator of Myths RETOLD!, sets the stories straight. These are rude, crude, totally sacred texts told the way they were meant to be told: loudly, and with lots of four-letter words. Did you know? Cronus liked to eat babies. Narcissus probably should have just learned to masturbate. Odin got construction discounts with bestiality. Isis had bad taste in jewelry. Ganesh was the very definition of an unplanned pregnancy. And Abraham was totally cool about stabbing his kid in the face. Still skeptical? Here are a few more gems to consider: • Zeus once stuffed an unborn fetus inside his thigh to save its life after he exploded its mother by being too good in bed. • The entire Egyptian universe was saved because Sekhmet just got too hammered to keep murdering everyone. • The Hindu universe is run by a married couple who only stop murdering in order to throw sweet dance parties…on the corpses of their enemies. • The Norse goddess Freyja once consented to a four-dwarf gangbang in exchange for one shiny necklace. And there’s more dysfunctional goodness where that came from.
On her 14th birthday, some terrifying truths are uncovered. Young Sofia realizes that a whole new world lay ahead of her as she takes on the dangerous task of finding out the truth of her past. But as an old enemy arises and bumps in the road appear, will she ever actually find what she needs or will she just end up back where she started? Join Sofia, Leo, and Adele as they journey through the over and underworld. As they battle weaknesses, love, fear, and lets not forget monsters. As they search near and far for the answers to their long asked questions.
This book is a retelling of legends featuring the well-known Polynesian mythological character, Māui (Maui), who is regarded as a significant cultural hero and trickster. His origins and exploits vary among different Polynesian cultures, but many of his main achievements remain similar. Māui's feats and adventures are recounted throughout much of Polynesia, with some stories tracing back as far as islands off New Guinea. Some of his most famous exploits include obtaining fire for humans from the underworld, fishing up islands with his magical hook, and capturing the Sun to lengthen the days.
Four brothers, each bearing the name of Maui, belong to Hawaiian legend. They accomplished little as a family, except on special occasions when the youngest of the household awakened his brothers by some unexpected trick which drew them into unwonted action. The legends of Hawaii, Tonga, Tahiti, New Zealand and the Hervey group make this youngest Maui "the discoverer of fire" or "the ensnarer of the sun" or "the fisherman who pulls up islands" or "the man endowed with magic," or "Maui with spirit power." The legends vary somewhat, of course, but not as much as might be expected when the thousands of miles between various groups of islands are taken into consideration. Maui was one of the Polynesian demi-gods. His parents belonged to the family of supernatural beings. He himself was possessed of supernatural powers and was supposed to make use of all manner of enchantments. In New Zealand antiquity a Maui was said to have assisted other gods in the creation of man. Nevertheless Maui was very human. He lived in thatched houses, had wives and children, and was scolded by the women for not properly supporting his household. The time of his sojourn among men is very indefinite. In Hawaiian genealogies Maui and his brothers were placed among the descendants of Ulu and "the sons of Kii," and Maui was one of the ancestors of Kamehameha, the first king of the united Hawaiian Islands. This would place him in the seventh or eighth century of the Christian Era. But it is more probable that Maui belongs to the mist-land of time. His mischievous pranks with the various gods would make him another Mercury living in any age from the creation to the beginning of the Christian era. The Hervey Island legends state that Maui's father was "the supporter of the heavens" and his mother "the guardian of the road to the invisible world." In the Hawaiian chant, Akalana was the name of his father. In other groups this was the name by which his mother was known. Kanaloa, the god, is sometimes known as the father of Maui. In Hawaii Hina was his mother. Elsewhere Ina, or Hina, was the grandmother, from whom he secured fire. The Hervey Island legends say that four mighty ones lived in the old world from which their ancestors came. This old world bore the name Ava-iki, which is the same as Hawa-ii, or Hawaii. The four gods were Mauike, Ra, Ru, and Bua-Taranga. It is interesting to trace the connection of these four names with Polynesian mythology. Mauike is the same as the demi-god of New Zealand, Mafuike. On other islands the name is spelled Mauika, Mafuika, Mafuia, Mafuie, and Mahuika. Ra, the sun god of Egypt, is the same as Ra in New Zealand and La (sun) in Hawaii. Ru, the supporter of the heavens, is probably the Ku of Hawaii, and the Tu of New Zealand and other islands, one of the greatest of the gods worshiped by the ancient Hawaiians. The fourth mighty one from Ava-ika was a woman, Bua-taranga, who guarded the path to the underworld. Talanga in Samoa, and Akalana in Hawaii were the same as Taranga. Pua-kalana (the Kalana flower) would probably be the same in Hawaiian as Bua-taranga in the language of the Society Islands.
The story cannot be confined to a mere fictional category. It crosses boundaries and mingles with most of the categories, including fantasy, suspense, love story/romance, philosophical, humor, intense family drama, etc. Though a fiction, it covers the fantasy because of its superhero element; it is a suspense because of the never-ending twists and turns in the story; its a love story between the protagonist and his lady love; and its philosophical because whenever the superhero falls in the story, he is forced to redeem his thinking and get himself motivated by listening to his elders wise thoughts. There is a sting of dry humor in the dialogues and intense family drama because it involves relationship and their importance that we share in our everyday life. The story revolves around a central theme of the real essence of life, being Life is not about how many times we fail, but how many times we rise above from our failures, as the protagonist fails to deliver multiple times in the story but again raises himself above his failures, forcing people to believe in him time and again.
With great power comes great... wait, how does that go again? An all-new, irreverent, and very irresponsible superhero story begins here! When slacker Jason McAndros suddenly gains the power of a god, the fourth wall isn't the only thing he breaks! As Jason revels in his newfound might, he begins calling himself Hercules and indulging in his every whim. The next Ominous Universe title is here! Collects Demi-God issues #1-4.
