In Cornwall in 1815, Demelza sees a horseman riding down the valley and senses disruption to the domestic contentment she has fought so hard to achieve. Ross has little option but to accept the summons—and travel to Paris with his family, as an "observer" of the French armed forces. Parisian life begins well, but the return of Napoleon brings separation, distrust, and danger to the Poldarks—and always for Demelza there is the shadow of the secret she does not even share with Ross.
Bella Poldark is the twelfth and final novel in Winston Graham's hugely popular Poldark series, and continues the story after the fifth TV series, which has become a television phenomenon starring Aidan Turner. The enchanting saga of Ross, Demelza and the Poldark family concludes in this, the last book in the epic series. Bella, the Poldarks’ youngest daughter, is a precociously talented singer and is encouraged to pursue a career by her old flame and by a distinguished French conductor who has more in mind than Bella’s music . . . Meanwhile, Valentine Warleggan, whose existence keeps open the old wounds of the feud between Ross and George, leads an increasingly wayward existence. And Clowance, the Poldarks’ widowed daughter, is considering remarrying to one of two rival suitors. But a cloud hangs over Cornwall, as a murderer stalks the villages looking for new victims . . . 'From the incomparable Winston Graham . . . who has everything that anyone else has, and then a whole lot more. - Guardian
New epic fantasy in the grand tradition—including a never-before-published Song of Ice and Fire story by George R. R. Martin! Fantasy fiction has produced some of the most unforgettable heroes ever conjured onto the page: Robert E. Howard’s Conan the Barbarian, Michael Moorcock’s Elric of Melniboné, Fritz Leiber’s Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. Classic characters like these made sword and sorcery a storytelling sensation, a cornerstone of fantasy fiction—and an inspiration for a new generation of writers, spinning their own outsize tales of magic and swashbuckling adventure. Now, in The Book of Swords, acclaimed editor and bestselling author Gardner Dozois presents an all-new anthology of original epic tales by a stellar cast of award-winning modern masters—many of them set in their authors’ best-loved worlds. Join today’s finest tellers of fantastic tales, including George R. R. Martin, K. J. Parker, Robin Hobb, Scott Lynch, Ken Liu, C. J. Cherryh, Daniel Abraham, Lavie Tidhar, Ellen Kushner, and more on action-packed journeys into the outer realms of dark enchantment and intrepid derring-do, featuring a stunning assortment of fearless swordsmen and warrior women who face down danger and death at every turn with courage, cunning, and cold steel. FEATURING SIXTEEN ALL-NEW STORIES: “The Best Man Wins” by K. J. Parker “Her Father’s Sword” by Robin Hobb “The Hidden Girl” by Ken Liu “The Sword of Destiny” by Matthew Hughes “‘I Am a Handsome Man,’ Said Apollo Crow” by Kate Elliott “The Triumph of Virtue” by Walter Jon Williams “The Mocking Tower” by Daniel Abraham “Hrunting” by C. J. Cherryh “A Long, Cold Trail” by Garth Nix “When I Was a Highwayman” by Ellen Kushner “The Smoke of Gold Is Glory” by Scott Lynch “The Colgrid Conundrum” by Rich Larson “The King’s Evil” by Elizabeth Bear “Waterfalling” by Lavie Tidhar “The Sword Tyraste” by Cecelia Holland “The Sons of the Dragon” by George R. R. Martin And an introduction by Gardner Dozois “When fine writer and expert editor [Gardner] Dozois beckons, authors deliver—and this surely will be one of the year’s essential anthologies.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
From the award-winning author of Swordspoint comes a witty, wicked coming-of-age story that is both edgy and timeless. . . . Welcome to Riverside, where the aristocratic and the ambitious battle for power and prestige in the city’s labyrinth of streets and ballrooms, theatres and brothels, boudoirs and salons. Into this alluring and alarming world walks a bright young woman ready to take it on and make her fortune. A well-bred country girl, Katherine knows all the rules of conventional society. Her biggest mistake is thinking they apply. Katherine’s host and uncle, Alec Campion, the capricious and decadent Mad Duke Tremontaine, is in charge here—and to him, rules are made to be broken. When he decides it would be far more amusing for his niece to learn swordplay than to follow the usual path to ballroom and husband, her world changes forever. And there’s no going back. Blade in hand, it’s up to Katherine to find her own way through a maze of secrets and betrayals, nobles and scoundrels—and to gain the power, respect, and self-discovery that come to those who master. . . . “Unholy fun, and wholly fun . . . an elegant riposte, dazzlingly executed.”—Gregory Maguire, New York Times bestselling author of Wicked
The eleventh novel in Winston Graham's classic Poldark saga, now a major TV series from Masterpiece PBS. Cornwall 1815 Demelza sees a horseman riding down the valley and senses disruption to the domestic contentment she has fought so hard to achieve. For Ross has little option but to accept the summons – and travel to Paris with his family, as an 'observer' of the French armed forces. Parisian life begins well with an exhilarating round of balls and parties. But the return of Napoleon brings separation, distrust and danger to the Poldarks . . . and always for Demelza there is the shadow of the secret she does not even share with Ross. In his Poldark series, Winston Graham explores the complications of love lost and the class struggle of early 19th-century England with a light comic touch. The Twisted Sword is followed by the twelfth book in the Poldark series, Bella Poldark.
Captain Vidarian Rulorat's great-grandfather gave up an imperial commission to commit social catastrophe by marrying a fire priestess. For love, he unwittingly doomed his family to generations of a rare genetic disease that follows families who cross elemental boundaries. Now Vidarian, the last surviving member of the Rulorat family, struggles to uphold his family legacy, and finds himself chained to a task as a result of the bride price his great-grandfather paid: The priestess Endera has called upon Vidarian to fulfill his family's obligation by transporting a young fire priestess named Ariadel to a water temple far to the south, through dangerous pirate-controlled territory. Vidarian finds himself at the intersection not only of the world's most volatile elements, but of the ancient and alien powers that lurk between them...
The tenth book in Winston Graham's classic Poldark saga, now a major TV series from Masterpiece PBS. Cornwall 1813 A silver cup lies half-forgotten in a dank cave, amongst a pile of stolen goods. Yet the tiny vessel and its inscription Amor gignit amorem haunts the lives of the still-feuding Poldark and Warleggan families, as Ross, Demelza and the ambitious and powerful Sir George Warleggan watch their children make the decisions that will shape their destinies. In the closing years of the wars against Napoleon, for Jeremy and Clowance, and for arrogant, cynical Valentine Warleggan, these are troubled and momentous times . . . In his Poldark series, Winston Graham explores the complications of love lost and the class struggle of early 19th-century England with a light comic touch. The Loving Cup is followed by the eleventh book in the series, The Twisted Sword.
IN THE EPIC HISTORICAL NOVEL SWORD OF HONOR, DAVID KIRK CONTINUES THE SAGA OF MUSASHI MIYAMOTO, THE GREATEST SWORDSMAN IN JAPANESE HISTORY, AS HE JOURNEYS TO THE ANCIENT CITY OF KYOTO TO FIGHT FOR HIS LIFE AND HIS IDEALS. Having survived the cataclysmic battle of Sekigahara, which established the mighty Tokugawa Shogunate, young Musashi Miyamoto travels through Japan determined to proclaim his revolutionary epiphany that the “way of the samurai,” the ancient code that binds warriors to their masters, needs to be abolished. But during the battle Musashi insulted an adept of the powerful Yoshioka school, and a price has been put on his head. Musashi is drawn to Kyoto, domain of the Yoshioka, driven by anger and certain that he will deal a crushing blow to the traditional samurai dogma by destroying the school. Musashi will learn, however, that the capital of the nation is rife with intrigue and potential rebellion against the newly established government, a struggle into which he unwittingly enters. Among other outcasts, Musashi will find the worth of his spectacular skill with the sword weighed against the deep cunning of manipulative Lords, and must make his reckoning with the Yoshioka, the way of the samurai, and ultimately his own nature. Only then will he be able to take one step closer to becoming the wise old sage who wrote The Book of Five Rings. Sword of Honor seamlessly blends meticulous research, mesmerizing action sequences, and a driving narrative to bring this extraordinary figure to life.
