The Emperor's Trial is over. The dragon throne has been claimed--yet there is no peace to be had. For the first time in history, it is not one emperor who has taken power, but four. Although the young rulers seek to build a better world, there are many who oppose them. Tradition is broken, and so is Etrusia. And while the empire crumbles, something dark awakens. Something that has waited centuries to unleash true calamity upon the world. Something only the emperors of Etrusia can hope to stop. Once again, the outcasts will be challenged, but now they face a threat unlike any the world has ever seen. Because a Trial is one thing. War is something else entirely.
A companion volume to The Dragons of Krynn presents a new collection of short fantasy fiction by such notable authors as Margaret Weis, Douglas Niles, and Tracy Hickman. Original.
In a modern mega-city built around dragons, one boy gets caught up in the world of underground dragon battles and a high-stakes gang war that could tear his family apart. Once, dragons nearly drove themselves to extinction. But in the city of Drakopolis, humans domesticated them centuries ago. Now dragons haul the city’s cargo, taxi its bustling people between skyscrapers, and advertise its wares in bright, neon displays. Most famously of all, the dragons battle. Different breeds take to the skies in nighttime bouts between the infamous kins—criminal gangs who rule through violence and intimidation. Abel has always loved dragons, but after a disastrous showing in his dragon rider’s exam, he's destined never to fly one himself. All that changes the night his sister appears at his window, entrusting him with a secret...and a stolen dragon. Turns out, his big sister is a dragon thief! Too bad his older brother is a rising star in Drakopolis law enforcement... To protect his friends and his family, Abel must partner with the stolen beast, riding in kin battles and keeping more secrets than a dragon has scales. When everyone wants him fighting on their side, can Abel figure out what’s worth fighting for?
Just a few years ago, people spoke of the US as a hyperpower-a titan stalking the world stage with more relative power than any empire in history. Yet as early as 1993, newly-appointed CIA director James Woolsey pointed out that although Western powers had "slain a large dragon" by defeating the Soviet Union in the Cold War, they now faced a "bewildering variety of poisonous snakes." In The Dragons and the Snakes, the eminent soldier-scholar David Kilcullen asks how, and what, opponents of the West have learned during the last quarter-century of conflict. Applying a combination of evolutionary theory and detailed field observation, he explains what happened to the "snakes"-non-state threats including terrorists and guerrillas-and the "dragons"-state-based competitors such as Russia and China. He explores how enemies learn under conditions of conflict, and examines how Western dominance over a very particular, narrowly-defined form of warfare since the Cold War has created a fitness landscape that forces adversaries to adapt in ways that present serious new challenges to America and its allies. Within the world's contemporary conflict zones, Kilcullen argues, state and non-state threats have increasingly come to resemble each other, with states adopting non-state techniques and non-state actors now able to access levels of precision and lethal weapon systems once only available to governments. A counterintuitive look at this new, vastly more complex environment, The Dragons and the Snakes will not only reshape our understanding of the West's enemies' capabilities, but will also show how we can respond given the increasing limits on US power.
Old Man's War author John Scalzi's sendup of the heroic fantasy genre, a finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Short Story. An over-the-top, humorous short story representing the prologue for a "future" book (written as an April Fool's Joke) published on Tor.com. The title of the series and book was created from an amalgamation of the most commonly used words in fantasy and science fiction novels over the previous decade. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
The shadows of evil sweep down across the peaceful land of Argonath as the Masters prepare to unleash dread monstrosities on the world, and only Relkin and dragon Bazil Broketail stand between the forces of darkness and Argonath's survival. Original.
Five royal houses will hear the call to compete in the Trial for the dragon throne. A liar, a soldier, a servant, a thief, and a murderer will answer it. Who will win? Three Dark Crowns meets The Breakfast Club with DRAGONS. When the Emperor dies, the five royal houses of Etrusia attend the Call, where one of their own will be selected to compete for the throne. It is always the oldest child, the one who has been preparing for years to compete in the Trial. But this year is different. This year these five outcasts will answer the call... THE LIAR: Emilia must hide her dark magic or be put to death. THE SOLDIER: Lucian is a warrior who has sworn to never lift a sword again. THE SERVANT: Vespir is a dragon trainer whose skills alone will keep her in the game. THE THIEF: Ajax knows that nothing is free--he must take what he wants. THE MURDERER: Hyperia was born to rule and will stop at nothing to take her throne.
The War of the Dragons: Fire Dragons, Ice Dragons, and Water Dragons All Controlled by the Powerful Dragon Sword By: Ronald D. Goode and Katherine M. Camacho Toward the beginning of time, God created dragons of fire, ice, and water from the Earth, who rule the planet by fear—untamed and feeding on human race. Only one thing can bring peace to the chaos that reigns: the Dragon Sword. But who will be God’s chosen one to wield it?
Now with all new content by John Ringo! Paradise Lost In the future there is no want, no war, no disease nor ill-timed death. The world is a paradise¾and then, in a moment, it ends. The council that controls the Net falls out and goes to war. Everywhere people who have never known a moment of want or pain are left wondering how to survive. But scattered across the face of the earth are communities which have returned to the natural life of soil and small farm. In the village of Raven's Mill, Edmund Talbot, master smith and unassuming historian, finds that all the problems of the world are falling in his lap. Refugees are flooding in, bandits are roaming the woods, and his former lover and his only daughter struggle through the Fallen landscape. Enemies, new and old, gather like jackals around a wounded lion. But what the jackals do not know is that while old he may be, this lion is far from death. And hidden in the past is a mystery that has waited until this time to be revealed. You cross Edmund Talbot at your peril, for a smith is not all he once was. . . . At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). Praise for the Science Fiction of John Ringo "MARVELOUS!" ¾David Weber "Explosive. . . . Fans of strong military SF will appreciate Ringo's lively narrative and flavorful characters. . . . One of the best new practitioners of military SF." ¾Publishers Weekly ". . . since his imagination, clearly influenced by Kipling and rock and roll, is fertile, and his storytelling skill sound, [When the Devil Dances] is irresistible." ¾Booklist ". . . fast-paced military sf peopled with three-dimensional characters and spiced with personal drama as well as tactical finesse." ¾Library Journal "If Tom Clancy were writing SF, it would read much like John Ringo . . . good reading with solid characterizations¾a rare combination." ¾Philadelphia Weekly Press "Ringo provides a textbook example of how a novel in the military SF subgenre should be written. . . . Crackerjack storytelling." ¾Starlog
“Bryan Davis writes with the scope of Tolkien, the focus of Lewis, the grandeur of Verne, and most of all the heart of Christ.” —Jeremiah F., reader Billy and Bonnie won the battle but how will they win the war? Billy and Bonnie’s hard-won victory in Circles of Seven came at a great cost as a vicious evil was unleashed on the earth. With Billy’s father missing, Billy and Bonnie must lead the dragons into war against the demonic beings known as Watchers. But in order to win the war, an ultimate sacrifice must be made, and Billy and Bonnie will be forced to make the greatest decision of their lives—a choice that will change their world forever. The fourth and final installment in the Dragons in our Midst series will leave you cheering, crying, and wishing for more adventures with these two friends.
