Literary Nonfiction. "This is an extremely individual book, a book where the writer puts us through an experience whereby we can see paintings differently, read a story differently, seemingly from the writer's/painter's point of view.... This is not a book to borrow, it must always be available for re-reading. As time passes my perception alters and so I must refer to Warp Spasm to help me put a few words to my perceptions, or better still, to help me watch the images change in my mind's eye. Now that is a joy"--Hubert Selby, Jr.
What does it mean to be a hero? The ancient Greeks who gave us Achilles and Odysseus had a very different understanding of the term than we do today. Based on the legendary Harvard course that Gregory Nagy has taught for well over thirty years, The Ancient Greek Hero in 24 Hours explores the roots of Western civilization and offers a masterclass in classical Greek literature. We meet the epic heroes of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, but Nagy also considers the tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, the songs of Sappho and Pindar, and the dialogues of Plato. Herodotus once said that to read Homer was to be a civilized person. To discover Nagy’s Homer is to be twice civilized. “Fascinating, often ingenious... A valuable synthesis of research finessed over thirty years.” —Times Literary Supplement “Nagy exuberantly reminds his readers that heroes—mortal strivers against fate, against monsters, and...against death itself—form the heart of Greek literature... [He brings] in every variation on the Greek hero, from the wily Theseus to the brawny Hercules to the ‘monolithic’ Achilles to the valiantly conflicted Oedipus.” —Steve Donoghue, Open Letters Monthly
In the time when gods and men walked the earth along with demons, the Chalice of Fire, the symbol of peace for Ulster, is stolen from the Red Branch by Bricriu Poisontongue. A small band of Seekers sets out to recover and return the Chalice to the Red Branch to restore peace to the Ulster kingdom. The Seekers are a group of two elves, Bern and Lorges; Cumac, the son of Cucullen, the greatest Red Branch warrior; Fedelm of the Sidhe; Tarin, the Swordwanderer; and the wizard-druid, Seanchan. Together they must make their way through the world brought as Maliman, the evil wizard, uses his powers to stop them as he seeks the Chalice himself to bend its magic to his will. The Seekers battle their way through the creatures of darkness that threaten to conquer the world. But they are determined to bring light back from darkness and restore the land that has fallen into ruin and decay with the theft of the Chalice. An epic tale that brings to mind the works of J.R.R.Tolkien, David Gemmell, and R.A. Salvatore, Seekers of the Chalice is the first book of a trilogy that explores the ongoing battle between good and evil in a land that is teetering on darkness. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
"You see, Edward, editor and budding Grail Knight, you're part of the Merlin myth, and you have been for a long time," said Merlin enigmatically. The figure of Merlin, magician, enchanter, trickster, strategist of King Arthur's Camelot, wise old man of Celtic myth, has intrigued and enthralled readers for centuries, but who, really, was he? Did he ever actually exist? Boston editor Edward Burbage is given a unique opportunity to find out. He's invited to Merlin's home on Mertowney Mountain to interview him. The invitation includes free transportation, and Merlin's mountain is not in this world, and for that matter, how on Earth could Burbage be talking to Merlin anyway? Merlin is supposed to be only a character from an old myth, isn't he? Over the course of five years, starting in 2034, Burbage conducts his interviews, and the revelations Merlin makes are astounding. He has been many mythic figures, taken on many guises, such as the Irish Cuchulainn, the Egyptian Anubis, the Navaho Monster Slayer, the Greek Herakles, the Polynesian Maui, and even a few holy men like Saint Columba of Iona and John the Evangelist of Patmos, author of Revelation. He's worked as initiator, war-god, slayer of inimical spirits, prophet, seer, a guide to the soul in the after-life, geomancer, terraformer, a fisher up of islands, and especially a devoted field agent to the Great Mother, Herself operating under many guises such as Morrigan, Isis, Changing Woman, and Hera. But why has Edward Burbage been brought to Mertowney Mountain? It's not just so Merlin can tell his true story. Merlin has a plan for him, and he's preparing things all the time he's recounting his exploits. Edward Burbage has a key role to play in the next installment of the long life of Merlin. He's about to step onto the world stage of myth disclosing a long withheld mystery, the secret of the Mer-Line, the truth and power behind Merlin himself.
After months of searching, The Seekers think they may have come to the end of their search for the Chalice of Fire that was stolen by Bricriu Poisontongue. But just as they are about to reach their goal, the wily thief slips away. Grimly, the Seekers once again set off after Bricriu to return the Chalice to the Red Branch. But the way is overrun with vampires and other creatures of the night controlled by the evil wizard Maliman. The wizard has escaped from his prison deep within the Great Rift and has begun to rebuild his army of followers. Bricriu makes his way to the Valley of the Shadows, a region ruled by the dead who lost their honor while alive and now try to draw the living into their evil kingdom. Here, the Seekers meet the greatest challenge of their search--with no choice but to follow Bricriu through the valley of the dead. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
The Otherworld is ready for you, but are you ready for the Otherworld? What would you tell your own less-experienced self about magic if you could go back in time and make a better start? That is the question this book seeks to address. What might you need to slough off, how far might you need to walk from the comfortable and familiar to truly embrace a magical life? Covering a period of thirteen moons, Standing and Not Falling is a workbook that allows the reader to clear the way before embarking, or to conduct a spiritual detox on themselves before stepping up their practice, or engaging a new beginning. Suitable for practitioners of any type of sorcerous activity from witchcraft to ceremonial magic and beyond. This book takes steady, direct aim at the main causes of disfunction and difficulty that arise for practitioners of the art magical, both individually and in relation to others, and at times also at the key maladies of our age.
Congratulations on your acceptance to the Apprentice Academy, one of the world’s finest institutions for knightly education. Your course of study here will prepare you for a career as a knight, samurai, Viking, or really any type of sword-swinging warrior. Swinging a sword is inherently dangerous, but this guide will help you complete your education while minimizing the twin risks of 1. getting maimed and 2. working too hard. Learn how to: • Fight people! • Fight dragons! • Fight monsters! • Fight everything else! • Die honorably! • And more! Please follow all instructions carefully. If you go off on your own and try something silly, and then get your head chopped off or your body bitten in two, don’t start drafting a letter of complaint. You had fair warning.
Randy Lee Eickhoff, the award-winning translator of the epic Ulster Cycle, continues his retelling of Ireland's spellbinding history and folklore in He Stands Alone. For the very first time, Randy Lee Eickhoff has combined several translations of the tale of the Irish Achilles, Cuchulainn, to provide a new and searching look at the warrior whose dedication to his country became the inspiration for Irish rebels in 1916, providing them with a rallying cry heard throughout all of Ireland. Beginning with Cuchulainn's mysterious birth, Eickhoff skillfully weaves the tale of the magical warrior; from his training with Scathach, the dreaded woman warrior, to his first encounter with the war-goddess, Morigan, a story that foreshadows Cuchulainn's heroic action the Cattle Raid of Cooley. Cuchulainn's adventures unfold as he grows in battle to become the king's champion, but, all the while, he struggles with his mortal side, and with human failings that inevitably draw him away from his wife, Emer, and under the spell of the mystical Fand, wife of the Irish sea-god, Manannan Mac Lir. In a style that is often compared to Nobel Prize winner Seamus Heaney's, Randy Lee Eickhoff demonstrates his knowledge and storytelling ability and once again introduces readers to a truly fascinating aspect of Irish mythology with He Stands Alone. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Do you ever think about solid ground? The author of this book does, a lot. Providing solid ground for consciousness is the umbilican function, he says. On January 1, 2020, the long-awaited Golden Age began. So did intense opposition to it from the shadows. It was like a thousand iron heels trying to stamp out spring blossoms. The dark forces exerted their manipulations in the outer world. The angelic contingent counterpointed in the subtle realm. The Earth wobbled. This is an insider’s report from three men who worked alongside the “good guys” to adjust the planet’s Light grid to better support the flowering of human consciousness that had been intended for this date and to resist, even undermine, the infernal opposition. These “good guy” benefactors included angels, archangels, the Great White Brotherhood, even some of the friendly Dead. Ronald, our narrator, with Joe and Mike, his dependable pals, call themselves geomantic engineers. They work on the Light grid, the subtle energy infrastructure of the Earth that supports the material world. They’re like electric utility pole linemen, up there in their extendable buckets, but their main tools are clairvoyance and knowledge of the mechanics of the planet’s many Light temples and systems. Ronald provides a vivid field account of an astonishing array of geomantic interventions and “adjustments” made in the last several years to shore up that potentially fabulous Golden Age, despite the dark forces’ protracted attempts to derail and smash it. The struggle reveals an Earth like you’ve never seen before. Our planet was designed to keep consciousness aligned with the spiritual world, galaxy, and beyond. People were supposed to feel firmly anchored in their bodies and planet. The Earth was meant to be the “gate of the gods,” the original pure meaning of Babylon. In recent centuries, that smooth reciprocal relationship has been upset. Light forces are trying to uplift awareness, dark forces to suppress it. Jump into Ronald’s riveting account to see how it all plays out.
