Blood on the Stone
Blood on the Stone

Author: Ian Smillie

Publisher: Anthem Press

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 254

ISBN-13: 0857289799

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Africa's diamond wars took four million lives. They destroyed the lives of millions more and they crippled the economies of Angola, the Congo, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The biggest UN peacekeeping forces in the world-in Sierra Leone, Liberia, the Congo and C te d'Ivoire―are the legacy of 'conflict' or 'blood diamonds'. 'Blood on the Stone' tells the story of how diamonds came to be so dangerous. It describes the history of the great diamond cartel and how it gradually lost control of the precious mineral, as country after country descended into anarchy and wars fuelled by diamonds. The book describes the diamond pipeline, from war-torn Africa to the glittering showrooms of Paris, London and New York. It describes the campaign that began in 1999 and which eventually forced the industry and more than 50 governments to create a global certification system known as the Kimberley Process, aimed at wringing blood diamonds out of the retail trade. This gripping account concludes with a sobering assessment of the certification system, which soon became hostage to political chicanery, mismanagement and vested interests. Too important to fail, the Kimberley Process has been hailed as a regulatory model for Africa's extractive minerals. Behind the scenes, however, it runs the risk of becoming an ineffectual talk shop, standing aside as criminals re-infest the diamond world.

Blood from a Stone
Blood from a Stone

Author: Richard Hammer

Publisher: Macmillan

Published: 2015-06-23

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 0765386038

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The search for the Life Diamonds--the subject of the compelling documentary produced by the History Channel. They were known as Life Diamonds--rough uncut diamonds of high quality bought by Jews in Eastern Europe to use as passports to safety. After 1939 and the Nazi blitzkrieg, after the extermination camps began belching black smoke into the skies and the railroad station at Auschwitz II-Birkenau became the busiest train station in the world, they became Death Diamonds. Blood from a Stone is the amazing story of forty of those diamonds, of their journey across continents and oceans, from the mines of South Africa to the diamond centers in Antwerp and Amsterdam, to the Jews of Eastern Europe, to the Death Camps. . . and to the two American soldiers who liberated them from the SS, finally, and buried them in a forest in Alsace on the border between France and Germany. It is the story of the curse believed to lie over the fabulous wealth of these stones, bringing death and disaster to all who touched them. It is the story of Yaron Svoray, who spent more than a decade in search of one small foxhole somewhere in a thousand square miles of forest...and of his unbelievable success. Blood from a Stone is a unique story, a story unlike any to come out of World War II. Blood from a Stone will more than over a dozen exclusive photos from the two-hour History Channel documentary.

Song of Blood & Stone
Song of Blood & Stone

Author: L. Penelope

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Published: 2019-07-16

Total Pages: 383

ISBN-13: 1250258383

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A TIME 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time A Time Magazine Best Fantasy Book of 2018 L. Penelope's Song of Blood & Stone is a treacherous, thrilling, epic fantasy about an outcast drawn into a war between two powerful rulers. The kingdoms of Elsira and Lagrimar have been separated for centuries by the Mantle, a magical veil that has enforced a tremulous peace between the two lands. But now, the Mantle is cracking and the True Father, ruler of Lagrimar and the most powerful Earthsinger in the world, finally sees a way into Elsira to seize power. All Jasminda ever wanted was to live quietly on her farm, away from the prying eyes of those in the nearby town. Branded an outcast by the color of her skin and her gift of Earthsong, she’s been shunned all her life and has learned to steer clear from the townsfolk...until a group of Lagrimari soldiers wander into her valley with an Elsiran spy, believing they are still in Lagrimar. Through Jack, the spy, Jasminda learns that the Mantle is weakening, allowing people to slip through without notice. And even more troubling: Lagrimar is mobilizing, and if no one finds a way to restore the Mantle, it might be too late for Elsira. Their only hope lies in uncovering the secrets of the Queen Who Sleeps and Jasminda’s Earthsong is the key to unravel them. Thrust into a hostile society and a world she doesn’t know, Jasminda and Jack race to unveil an ancient mystery that might offer salvation.

Isle of Blood and Stone
Isle of Blood and Stone

Author: Makiia Lucier

Publisher: HarperCollins

Published: 2018-04-10

Total Pages: 405

ISBN-13: 0544968603

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Eighteen years ago, two princes vanished. Now a riddle hidden on a mysterious map could chart a course towards the truth and the missing royals in this historical fantasy that's perfect for fans of Rachel Hartman and Tamora Pierce. Eighteen years ago two princes of the island kingdom of St. John del Mar were kidnapped and murdered, a deadly plot by the rival kingdom of Mondrago. Everyone knows the story, but for Elias, Mercedes, and Ulises, the aftermath of that tragic day is deeply personal. Elias grew up without his father, who was killed trying to protect the princes. Mercedes is half-Mondragan, leaving her to grow up in the shadow of del Mar’s hate. And Ulises, as the youngest and only remaining prince, inherited the throne meant for his older brothers. Now, the three friends just want to move on with their lives. But when two maps surface—each with the same hidden riddle—troubling questions arise. What really happened to the young princes? And why do the maps look like they were drawn by Elias’s father, whose body was never found? To discover what really happened that fateful day, Elias, Mercedes, and Ulises must follow the clues hidden in the maps, uncovering long-held secrets and unimaginable betrayals along the way. But the truth is dangerous, and not everyone wants it to come out. Isle of Blood and Stone is a sweeping fantasy full of intrigue and schemes, romance and friendship, and fearless explorers searching for the truth.

Blood from a Stone
Blood from a Stone

Author: Donna Leon

Publisher: Grove/Atlantic, Inc.

Published: 2007-12-01

Total Pages: 349

ISBN-13: 1555848966

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

When an immigrant dies on a Venice street, it will take a determined detective to pursue the case to its shocking end: “[An] outstanding series.” —Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review On a cold Venetian night shortly before Christmas, a street vendor is killed in a scuffle in Campo San Stefano. The closest witnesses to the event are the tourists who had been browsing the man’s wares before his death—fake handbags of every designer label. The dead man was one of the many African immigrants purveying goods outside normal shop hours and trading without a work permit. Once Commissario Guido Brunetti begins to investigate this unfamiliar Venetian underworld, he discovers that matters of great value are at stake within the secretive society. And his boss’s warning to avoid getting involved only makes Brunetti more determined to unearth the truth behind this mysterious killing. “[A] stunning novel . . . an engrossing, complex plot.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review “The appeal of Guido Brunetti, the hero of Donna Leon’s long-running Venetian crime series, comes not from his shrewdness, though he is plenty shrewd, nor from his quick wit. It comes, instead, from his role as an Everyman . . . [his life is] not so different from our own days at the office or nights around the dinner table. Crime fiction for those willing to grapple with, rather than escape, the uncertainties of daily life.” —Booklist

Stone Blood Legacy
Stone Blood Legacy

Author: Jayne Faith

Publisher: Jayne Faith

Published: 2018-12-08

Total Pages: 303

ISBN-13: 099964582X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The Stone Order is under attack. Wrathful gods are closing in. Unlikely allies Petra and Jasper may be Faerie’s only hope. After her victory in the battle of champions, Petra thought she was a step closer to freedom from her sovereign and the politics of Faerie. But when she and Jasper, son of the enemy king, are sent on a mission together, she learns the shocking truth of her own bloodline and gets drawn even deeper into Fae struggles. To complicate matters, Petra can no longer deny her feelings for Jasper. But there’s little time for exploring the new romance. Petra and Jasper discover the rumors are true--the Fae gods who left Faerie in the hands of High King Oberon generations ago are preparing to return, and they’re planning to raze their former realm. But the High King is nowhere to be found. In the chaos of Oberon's absence, Petra’s people are left vulnerable to foreign invaders who would seize the stone fortress. The time for diplomacy is past. Petra must find a way to protect herself, her vulnerable changeling twin sister, and her people before the angry gods close in. Find out what fate awaits Petra, Jasper, and Faerie in STONE BLOOD LEGACY, the continuation of the new urban fantasy series for fans of Ilona Andrews, Patricia Briggs, and Jim Butcher. Download the eBook today and continue the adventure!

Blood of the Stone Prince
Blood of the Stone Prince

Author: M. J. Neary

Publisher: Crossroad Press

Published: 2017-09-23

Total Pages: 386

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

From the alchemy labs of fifteenth-century France comes a tale of one beauty and three beasts on a macabre journey through the Parisian underworld. After sixteen years of priesthood, Monseigneur Desmoulins secretly wishes for excommunication. Fed up with sacristy intrigues and tedious inquisition proceedings, he keeps himself amused by dissecting rats, playing with explosives and stalking foreign women. Some of his dirty work he delegates to his nineteen-year-old protégé Daniel Dufort nicknamed Stone Prince, who plays the organ at the cathedral. The gaunt, copper-haired youth looks may look like an angel, but his music is believed to be demonic, pushing the faithful towards crime and suicide. To keep themselves safe amidst urban violence, the master and his ward take fencing lessons from Lucius Castelmaure, an alcoholic officer facing a court martial. Their alliance is tested when a Wallachian traveler implores them to entertain his terminally-ill daughter Agniese, whose dying whim to is be buried inside the Montfaucon cellar alongside felons and traitors. The three men jump at the chance to indulge the eccentric virgin in the final months of her life. Raised in the spirit of polyamory, Agniese has no qualms about taking all three men as lovers. In a city of where street festivals turn into massacres, it's only a matter of time before the romantic quadrangle tumbles into a pit of hellfire. Filled with witch-hanging, bone-cracking, gargoyle-hugging humor, Blood of the Stone Prince is a blasphemous thriller for the heretic in each one of us.

The Blood Stone
The Blood Stone

Author: Jamila Gavin

Publisher: Random House

Published: 2013-08-31

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13: 1448174929

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

One diamond – a world of spies, death and deception. In Venice, the diamond promises wealth and prestige to greedy Bernardo Pagliarin. At the court of the Great Moghul in Agra, it holds the key to the throne itself. For Filippo and his family, the stone is worth far more. It could bring their father back from the dead. From the bustling markets of seventeenth-century Venice to the majestic palaces of Hindustan, acclaimed author Jamila Gavin takes the reader on an unforgettable quest across desert, sea and mountains.

The Scrolls of the Ancients
The Scrolls of the Ancients

Author: Robert Newcomb

Publisher: Del Rey

Published: 2004-06-15

Total Pages: 646

ISBN-13: 0345478436

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

“Plenty of adventure and magic . . . continues Robert Newcomb’s tradition of mixing adventure with an interesting and well-realized magical world.”—SF Site Prince Tristan and his twin sister, Shailiha, are the Chosen Ones, prophesied to unite the opposing magics of the dark Vagaries and the benevolent Vigors. But before they can fulfill their destiny, they must search out the mysterious Scrolls of the Ancients which hold the key to unlocking great mystical secrets. They are not the only ones on a dire quest. Krassus, a devoted servant of the Vagaries, has located one of the Scrolls and through it has attained great and ominous powers. Now he needs but one thing: a man who unknowingly possesses magic in his blood almost as potent as that of the Chosen Ones. Tristan and Shailiha must find that man before Krassus’s dark enchantments turn him into the most dangerous weapon of evil the world has ever known—if it’s not already too late. . . .

Savage Messiah
Savage Messiah

Author: Robert Newcomb

Publisher: Del Rey

Published: 2006-12-26

Total Pages: 540

ISBN-13: 0345477081

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Robert Newcomb’s dazzling debut trilogy, The Chronicles of Blood and Stone, introduced readers to the strange and wondrous land of Eutracia. Now, in Savage Messiah, the first volume in a sweeping new trilogy of magic, romance, and adventure, Newcomb returns to the world of his epic saga, unlocking fresh secrets and startling surprises. With the demise of his evil half brother, Wulfgar, Prince Tristan restored peace to Eutracia . . . or so he thought. But the Orb of the Vigors was damaged in the climactic battle, and now the powerful artifact is bleeding magical energy and cutting a swath of death and destruction across the kingdom. Tristan can heal the wounded Orb, but not until his enchanted blood is returned to normal. Only then will the powers of the Vigors be his to command. Unfortunately, the secret of reversing the enchantment is lost. Even worse, Wulfgar is neither dead nor defeated. Ensconced in his fortress across the Sea of Whispers, Tristan’s hideously scarred half brother plots with the Heretics, the otherworldly masters of the Vagaries. With their aid, Wulfgar has grown even stronger in the dark arts. Now, with powerful demonic servants and weapons of dire potency, Wulfgar sets forth to complete the destruction of the Orb . . . and to avenge himself on the Chosen Ones. Preceding him, he sends a brotherly greeting: a cunning assassin with orders to dispatch Eutracia’s ruling council. Tristan and his trusted allies—the wise wizards Wigg and Faegan, the beautiful pirate Tyranny, and, dearest of all, his beloved Celeste—embark on a desperate quest to cleanse his blood. It is a journey that will lead from the Sea of Whispers to distant Parthalon to the mysterious Well of Forestallments, and it will change everything the Chosen Ones think they know about themselves and their destiny. If they should fail, the Orb will perish, and with it, the Vigors. As for success, it may prove more costly still. . . .