A Reaper's Creed. An Oath to keep. A Soul to save. Just as Xavier began his training as a Reaper Knight, he was flung off a cliff by an assassin sent to kill the Princess of Death, and vanished into the ocean. But Xavier’s NecroSeam somehow stitched itself to another living vessel, connecting his soul to someone who shared half his necromantic ability… His twin brother. The co-existing brothers secretly embark on a mission up to the sun-kissed Land Realm in search of Xavier’s missing body, only to discover this surface realm is on the brink of war. Before they can be normal again, the twin Reapers must battle colossal dragons and legions of soul-eating creatures controlled by an ancient demon queen. As Death Knights-in-training, they took an oath… and now there’s more than one soul to save.
One of NPR’s 50 Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Books of the Decade: A fifteenth-century palace mapmaker must hide his powers in the time of the Inquisition . . . Award-winning author G. Willow Wilson’s debut novel Alif the Unseen was an NPR and Washington Post Best Book of the Year and established her as a vital American Muslim literary voice. Now she delivers The Bird King, an epic journey set during the reign of the last sultan in the Iberian peninsula at the height of the Spanish Inquisition. Fatima is a concubine in the royal court of Granada, the last emirate of Muslim Spain. Her dearest friend, Hassan, the palace mapmaker and the one man who doesn’t leer at her with desire, has a secret—he can draw maps of places he’s never seen and bend the shape of reality. When representatives of the newly formed Spanish monarchy arrive to negotiate the sultan’s surrender, Fatima befriends one of the women, not realizing that she will see Hassan’s gift as sorcery and a threat to Christian Spanish rule. With their freedoms at stake, what will Fatima risk to save Hassan and escape the palace walls? As the two traverse Spain with the help of a clever jinn to find safety, The Bird King asks us to consider what love is and the price of freedom at a time when the West and the Muslim world were not yet separate. “Wilson has a deft hand with myth and with magic, and the kind of smart, honest writing mind that knits together and bridges cultures and people.” —Neil Gaiman, author of Norse Mythology “A triumph . . . one of the best fantasy writers working today.” —BookPage “A treasure-house of a novel, thrilling, tender, funny, and achingly gorgeous. I loved it.” —Lev Grossman, author of the Magicians trilogy
Maby Armstrong has held it together long enough. Typically one to chase after her comfort zone instead of happiness, it takes facing her fear of the unknown head-on to realize her dreams. Her longtime wish of owning her own shop becomes a reality, and a newfound confidence gives her the boost she needs after dealing with what she calls her “dysfunctional mind.” Her life is finally aligning. Even after a long stretch of being alone, men are coming out of the woodwork. A longtime best friend, an ex, and her favorite coffee shop guy suddenly think they can’t live without her. Maybe it’s time Maby starts living. At times both laugh-out-loud funny and heart-wrenchingly painful, embrace the crazy with this quest for sanity and true love...
From Willow Smith and Jess Hendel comes a powerful and groundbreaking historical saga about an African warrior in the world of the Vikings. “Intimate, tender, and fiercely epic.”—Tomi Adeyemi, author of Children of Blood and Bone Lore, legend, and history tell us of the Vikings: warrior kings on epic journeys of conquest and plunder. But the stories we know are not the only stories to tell. There is another story, one that has been lost to the mists of time: the saga of the dark queen. This saga begins with Yafeu, a defiant yet fiercely compassionate young warrior who is stolen from her home in the flourishing Ghānaian empire and taken to a distant kingdom in the North. There she is thrust into a strange, cold world of savage shield maidens, tyrannical rulers, and mysterious gods. And there she also finds something unexpected: a kindred spirit. She comes to serve Freydis, a shy princess who couldn’t be more different from the confident and self-possessed Yafeu. But they both want the same thing: to forge their own fate. Yafeu inspires Freydis to dream of a future greater than the one that the king and queen have forced upon her. And with the princess at her side, Yafeu learns to navigate this new world and grows increasingly determined to become one of the legendary shield maidens—to fight not only for her freedom but for the freedom of others. Yafeu may have lost her home, but she still knows who she is, and she’s not afraid to be the flame that burns a city to the ground so a new world can rise from the ashes. She will alter the course of history—and become the revolutionary heroine of her own myth.
James Baillie Fraser left his native Scotland for India in 1813. After a short and unsuccessful stint working in a trading business in Kolkata (Calcutta), in 1815 he joined his brother William Fraser on an expedition to find the sources of the Jumna and Ganges rivers. He documented the trip in Journal of a Tour through Part of the Snowy Range of the Himālā Mountains, published in 1820. A skilled artist who produced sketches and acquatints of different parts of India, in 1821 Fraser accompanied Dr. Andrew Jukes of the East India Company on a diplomatic mission to Persia. Jukes died in Isfahan in late 1821, but Fraser continued the journey, visiting Tehran, Mashhad, Tabriz, and other cities before returning to London. This book is Fraser's account of his voyage through Khorasān, a historical region that includes parts of present-day Iran, Turkmenistan, and Afghanistan. It contains detailed information about the peoples of the region and their customs, religious practices, and forms of government. Appended to the main work is a lengthy "Geographical Sketch of the Principal Districts of Khorasan," with descriptions of the countryside and of towns such as Herat, Afghanistan. At the end are listed the route and travel distances from Mashad to Herat, Herat to Kabul, Kabul to Balkh, and between various other points. Also included are several tables with geographic and meteorological data.
When you're a princess of the dead, your family has deadly secrets. ★★★★★ "If Tim Burton had written Lord of the Rings" - Vincent E.M. Thorn, 5-star review for Willow of Ashes, book 1 of the NecroSeam Chronicles Princess Willow thought training her magic would be her greatest challenge. She was very, very wrong. Even as a young girl, Princess Willow has struggled with her magical studies, especially in the arcane arts of raising the dead. Being the daughter of the Death King and a princess of the Dream kingdom, the world expects great things from her. But can she deliver? Although she's already surpassed her peers in the martial art of the scythe and is ready to join her father on her first demon hunt, she fears her ineptitude with magic will be her downfall if she doesn't improve, and quickly. But while she obsesses over her morbid studies, Willow starts to notice her mother is acting strange. Being a powerful oracle, her mother is always cryptic and mysterious, but she can't recall a time the queen was this shaken. While her father is focused on training Willow to be the next ruler of Grim, and Willow is becoming distracted by a charming new reaper boy in the kingdom, her mother has been scouring the shadows of the palace as if preparing for something ominous. If she's seen a vision of the future, Willow worries whatever is coming will have horrific consequences... and no amount of preparation will help. Awards for the NecroSeam Chronicles: Writer's Digest Self-published ebook award (Book 1, Willow of Ashes) Readers' Favorite international book award (Book 1, Willow of Ashes & Book 5, Blossom of Gold) Book Excellence Award Honoree (Book 1, Willow of Ashes & Book 3, Pearl of Emerald) Dark mysteries, enchanting magic, devastating consequences. The horrors of our past haunt us. Trauma can't be healed with magic... but maybe the next generation can find a way. From the 1st Place Winning Fantasy series, the NecroSeam Chronicles, comes this mystical prequel of overcoming our weaknesses and turning them into our greatest strengths. Princess of Grim is a prequel of the COMPLETED 5-book saga, the award-winning NecroSeam Chronicles. Special Features: Action & Adventure Gothic Mysteries Complex magic systems Extensive world-building Immersive narration Splash of Romance Witty humorUnique steam-and-magic technology Rated PG-13 (Trigger Warnings) Graphic violence Mild cursing Read less
A thrilling tale of adventure, romance, and one girl's unyielding courage through the darkest of nightmares.Epidemics, floods, droughts--for sixteen-year-old Lucy, the end of the world came and went, taking 99% of the population with it. As the weather continues to rage out of control, and Sweepers clean the streets of plague victims, Lucy survives alone in the wilds of Central Park. But when she's rescued from a pack of hunting dogs by a mysterious boy named Aidan, she reluctantly realizes she can't continue on her own. She joins his band of survivors, yet a new danger awaits her: the Sweepers are looking for her. There's something special about Lucy, and they will stop at nothing to have her.
This excellent introduction to one of the most important spiritual classics of the Christian tradition is now reprinted in a new edition by popular demand. Full of solid insight, keen intuition and wise counsel for the spiritual journey, the book situates St Teresa's work in the context of the Carmelite tradition and of a contemporary understanding of holistic spirituality. One chapter is devoted to each of the seven spiritual mansions of The Interior Castle. From Ash to Fire is particuarly useful for those who are at the beginning of the spiritual journey, but has many valuable insights for all readers. Carolyn Humphreys uses easy to follow, lay person's language to describe each spiritual stage, relating it to the corresponding human dimension. You may recognize yourself in many of her vivid examples that relate to everyday experiences. She delicately brings to light that 'authentic humanness comes through a person who is dependent on God and interdependent on others, ' and thus guides you along the way with sound advice. Carolyn Humphreys is a registered occupational therapist and a Secular Discalced Carmelite.
