The "highly satisfying conclusion to their epic trilogy," ("Publishers Weekly," starred review) by "New York Times" bestselling fantasists Weis and Hickman.
From acclaimed New York Times bestselling fantasists Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman comes the spellbinding conclusion to the epic adventure of wonder, courage, magic, and ambition that is the breathtaking world of the Sovereign Stone. Over two hundred years have passed since the mystical Sovereign Stone was shattered and the world of Loerem faced its most dangerous test ever—the rise of the dark lord Dagnarus. But now Dagnarus has stirred from the Void and seeks the utter conquest of all Loerem. Leading a seemingly unstoppable horde of bestial, powerful minions and a host of insidious undead, Dagnarus captures mortal kingdom after mortal kingdom, until he stands before the very gates of New Vinnengael, as traitors within the city plot to yield the crown to the undead lord. In the darkness and turmoil that follows, all heroes must first master their own fears and weaknesses before they can take up the fight to stop Dagnarus, and the company spreads across many lands to face many perils. Mortally wounded by a Blood-knife wielded by an undead Vrykyl knight, the Baron Shadamehr lies dying, and even the many skills of his beautiful, beloved Alise may not be able to save him. Others face desperate journeys through hostile lands and difficult tests of character. And, unsuspected, a deadly Vrykyl stalks the pecwae Bashae—and his precious burden, the human portion of the Sovereign Stone—through the streets of New Vinnengael. Yet the gods have their own plans for this imperiled land, and drawn by an unknown call, the Dominion Lords head for the Portal of the Gods, the mystical, haunted site of Dagnarus’s terrible treachery two hundred years beforehand. For if all the parts of the sundered Sovereign Stone can be reunited, the Dominion Lords can stop Dagnarus’s unholy plans for domination. But one piece is still missing. . . . As the past and present converge in a desperate race to determine the future, an unlikely hero will arise. A man who will become far more than he ever dreamed possible and who holds the fate of all Loerem in his hands. And to save Loerem he must venture into a realm of utter terror and darkness . . . into the very blackness of the Void itself.
Second in line for succession to the throne, Prince Dagnarus will have his crown...and his queen -- though his heart's prize is a married elfin beauty. Let his hated half-brother Prince Helmos and the Dominion Lords dare to oppose him. For Dagnarus's most loyal servant has ventured into the terrible darkness, where lies the most potent talisman in the realm. And once it is in the dark prince's hand, no power will deter his Destiny.
Generations after Vinnengael was laid to waste at the hands of Dagnarus, Gustav, the last human Dominion Lord, finally achieves his lifelong quest when he discovers the lost portion of the Sovereign Stone. Gustav entrusts the stone to Bashae.
Readers join Captain MacKensie Calhoun, Commander Shelby, Dr. Selar, and the rest of the crew of the "U.S.S. Excalibur" as they explore strange new worlds, seek out new life and boldly go where no one has gone before!
Reviewers exhaust superlatives when it comes to the science fiction of Peter F. Hamilton. His complex and engaging novels, which span thousands of years—and light-years—are as intellectually stimulating as they are emotionally fulfilling. Now, with The Dreaming Void, the first volume in a trilogy set in the same far-future as his acclaimed Commonwealth saga, Hamilton has created his most ambitious and gripping space epic yet. The year is 3589, fifteen hundred years after Commonwealth forces barely staved off human extinction in a war against the alien Prime. Now an even greater danger has surfaced: a threat to the existence of the universe itself. At the very heart of the galaxy is the Void, a self-contained microuniverse that cannot be breached, cannot be destroyed, and cannot be stopped as it steadily expands in all directions, consuming everything in its path: planets, stars, civilizations. The Void has existed for untold millions of years. Even the oldest and most technologically advanced of the galaxy’s sentient races, the Raiel, do not know its origin, its makers, or its purpose. But then Inigo, an astrophysicist studying the Void, begins dreaming of human beings who live within it. Inigo’s dreams reveal a world in which thoughts become actions and dreams become reality. Inside the Void, Inigo sees paradise. Thanks to the gaiafield, a neural entanglement wired into most humans, Inigo’s dreams are shared by hundreds of millions–and a religion, the Living Dream, is born, with Inigo as its prophet. But then he vanishes. Suddenly there is a new wave of dreams. Dreams broadcast by an unknown Second Dreamer serve as the inspiration for a massive Pilgrimage into the Void. But there is a chance that by attempting to enter the Void, the pilgrims will trigger a catastrophic expansion, an accelerated devourment phase that will swallow up thousands of worlds. And thus begins a desperate race to find Inigo and the mysterious Second Dreamer. Some seek to prevent the Pilgrimage; others to speed its progress–while within the Void, a supreme entity has turned its gaze, for the first time, outward. . . . BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from Peter F. Hamilton's The Temporal Void.
A lavish coffee-table book featuring spectacular images from the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, the most powerful X-Ray telescope ever built Take a journey through the cosmos with Light from the Void, a stunning collection of photographs from the Chandra X-Ray Observatory's two decades of operation. The book showcases rarely-seen celestial phenomena such as black holes, planetary nebulae, galaxy clusters, gravitational waves, stellar birth and death, and more. Accompanying these images of incredible natural phenomena are captions explaining how they occur. The images start close to home and move outward: beginning with images of the Chandra launch, then moving into the solar system, through the nearby universe, and finally to the most distant galaxies Chandra has observed, the book brings readers on a far-out visual voyage.
A spiritual journey—both deeply personal and strikingly universal. One of Israel's leading cultural figures, Dov Elbaum grew up in an ultra-Orthodox Jerusalem family, and was a prodigy who seemed destined for greatness in the world of Talmud study. But in his late teens, he abruptly broke away and set off into secular Israeli society. In this fascinating, courageous and compelling autobiography, Elbaum seeks to understand his decision and its consequences. With the structure of Kabbalah as his road map, Elbaum journeys into the deep recesses of his self and his soul. The ultimate goal of his journey is "the Void," a Kabbalistic space that precedes God's creation of the world, and a psychological state that precedes our formation as individuals. It is a space of great vulnerability but also of hope for rebirth and renewal. This is an intimate, honest, revealing work, both deeply personal and strikingly universal. The Hebrew edition was a bestseller and sold over 50,000 copies.
Bullitt wrote this book when she couldn't find the guide she needed to lead her out of her crises. It is told through the gripping personal stories of those she has known and counseled, who have found their way out of despair by following the six-step plan described here. The dynamic program is for those mourning the loss of a loved one, a marriage, a job, property, money and more.
The 25th Anniversary ebook, now with more than 50 images. 'Touching the Void' is the tale of two mountaineer’s harrowing ordeal in the Peruvian Andes. In the summer of 1985, two young, headstrong mountaineers set off to conquer an unclimbed route. They had triumphantly reached the summit, when a horrific accident mid-descent forced one friend to leave another for dead. Ambition, morality, fear and camaraderie are explored in this electronic edition of the mountaineering classic, with never before seen colour photographs taken during the trip itself.