Alaric always knew his goal in life was to become one of the elite magician-soldiers in the army of Erados. On the eve of the realization of his dream, one man's foul play thrusts him and an unlikely companion into the raging civil war that engulfs the world outside. Forced out of the shelter of their lifelong home, Alaric and Colbert must face the reality of war and dangers that they have only heard of, carefully trying to balance their ideals without losing their lives. As if that wasn't enough, an ageless demon awakens from his slumber, determined to overrun the world with his kin. Faced with a power that threatens to corrupt their world, Alaric and Colbert are faced with no option but to fight, and perhaps sacrifice far more than they could have ever dreamed...
The most important intellectual development in the academy in the 21st century has been the forging of new relationships between the sciences and the humanities and the realization that interdisciplinary scholarship holds the promise of the unification of all knowledge. This groundbreaking book shows how this can be fulfilled. Through a wide-ranging analysis of arguments concerning the complementarity of arts and sciences advanced by Schelling and Goethe and those about the cognitive value of literature articulated by contemporary philosophers, the book shows that literary fiction can contribute to the scientific understanding of human nature. With a careful and original examination of autobiographical material and literary texts, it demonstrates that European novelists such as Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, Italo Svevo, and Elias Canetti conducted ambitious and innovative literary explorations of the human mind and human behavior using Darwinian theory as their scientific framework, and, in doing so, they anticipated the theoretical developments and empirical findings of cognitive, social, and evolutionary psychology by almost 100 years. The work of these novelists was largely misunderstood by literary scholars, but this book’s re-discovery and illustration of what these writers attempted to accomplish and how they did it show one important path leading to the future unification of all knowledge about the human condition.
In The Legacy of the Drevnik: The Exile LanDrin, a young Frost Elf, loses everyone he holds dear. His Uncle, who is like a father to him, killed his parents. His fianc is killed by her father. When his death is ordered LanDrin is forced to leave his home. Only with the help of a dragon and some new friends can he find a way to take back his home. As he tries to find answers to help make sense of his life and his losses, LanDrin finds out that the troubles of his people are only one part of the scheme of the mysterious mages called the Sovershenik. Not all hope is lost, the powerful magic of the ancient Drevnik is found in an unlikely place. LanDrin also learns that the history of his people, the Sovershenik, and the history of the long forgotten Drevnik are all important if he wants to help his people and put an end to the troubles that are engulfing the continent of Tselestial. The first book in the series, The Exile, follows LanDrin as he journeys to learn the skills and knowledge necessary to free his people. After years of training LanDrin and his friends head to Klan Gorod to join the Fighters Klan and find allies in his fight against an ever growing threat. Along the way enemies arise and plots become known that make LanDrin realize that he and his people are just a small part of the plan that has been unfolding for decades. Behind it all seems to lurk the Sovershenik, powerful mages that rebelled, left the Drevnik, and disappeared into history thousands of years ago.
One of India's most incredible and enviable cultural aspects is that every Indian is bilingual, if not multilingual. Delving into the fascinating early history of South Asia, this original book reveals how migration, both external and internal, has shaped all Indians from ancient times. Through a first-of-its-kind and incisive study of languages, such as the story of early Sanskrit, the rise of Urdu, language formation in the North-east, it presents the astounding argument that all Indians are of mixed origins.It explores the surprising rise of English after Independence and how it may be endangering India's native languages.
The Old Southwest flourished between 1830 and 1860, but its brand of humor lives on in the writings of Mark Twain, the novels of William Faulkner, the television series The Beverly Hillbillies, the material of comedian Jeff Foxworthy, and even cyberspace, where nonsoutherners can come up to speed on subjects like hickphonics. The first book on its subject, The Enduring Legacy of Old Southwest Humor engages topics ranging from folklore to feminism to the Internet as it pays tribute to a distinctly American comic style that has continued to reinvent itself. The book begins by examining frontier southern humor as manifested in works of Faulkner, Erskine Caldwell, Flannery O’Connor, Eudora Welty, Woody Guthrie, Harry Crews, William Price Fox, Fred Chappell, Barry Hannah, Cormac McCarthy, and African American writers Zora Neale Hurston, Ralph Ellison, Alice Walker, Ishmael Reed, and Yusef Komunyakaa. It then explores southwestern humor’s legacy in popular culture—including comic strips, comedians, and sitcoms—and on the Internet. Many of the trademark themes of modern and contemporary southern wit appeared in stories that circulated in the antebellum Southwest. Often taking the form of tall tales, those stories have served and continue to serve as rich, reusable material for southern writers and entertainers in the twentieth century and beyond. The Enduring Legacy of Old Southwest Humor is an innovative collaboration that delves into jokes about hunting, drinking, boasting, and gambling as it studies, among other things, the styles of comedians Andy Griffith, Dave Gardner, and Justin Wilson. It gives splendid demonstration that through the centuries southern humor has continued to be a powerful tool for disarming hypocrites and opening up sensitive issues for discussion.
