Download or read book How to Kill a Dragon written by Calvert Watkins and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 1995 with total page 630 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In How to Kill a Dragon Calvert Watkins follows the continuum of poetic formulae in Indo-European languages, from Old Hittite to medieval Irish. He uses the comparative method to reconstruct traditional poetic formulae of considerable complexity that stretch as far back as the original common language. Thus, Watkins reveals the antiquity and tenacity of the Indo-European poetic tradition. Watkins begins this study with an introduction to the field of comparative Indo-European poetics; he explores the Saussurian notions of synchrony and diachrony, and locates the various Indo-European traditions and ideologies of the spoken word. Further, his overview presents case studies on the forms of verbal art, with selected texts drawn from Indic, Iranian, Greek, Latin, Hittite, Armenian, Celtic, and Germanic languages. In the remainder of the book, Watkins examines in detail the structure of the dragon/serpent-slaying myths, which recur in various guises throughout the Indo-European poetic tradition. He finds the "signature" formula for the myth--the divine hero who slays the serpent or overcomes adversaries--occurs in the same linguistic form in a wide range of sources and over millennia, including Old and Middle Iranian holy books, Greek epic, Celtic and Germanic sagas, down to Armenian oral folk epic of the last century. Watkins argues that this formula is the vehicle for the central theme of a proto-text, and a central part of the symbolic culture of speakers of the Proto-Indo-European language: the relation of humans to their universe, the values and expectations of their society. Therefore, he further argues, poetry was a social necessity for Indo- European society, where the poet could confer on patrons what they and their culture valued above all else: "imperishable fame."

Download or read book Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon written by James Hibberd and published by Corgi. This book was released on 2022-03-03 with total page 464 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Kill the Dragon Get the Girl written by Cheston Hervey and published by . This book was released on 2017-12 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Three years after an accident took eleven of her classmates and the use of her legs, fourteen-year-old Lacy, a classmate, their siblings, and a neighbor must battle evil incarnate.

Download or read book How to Slay a Dragon written by Cait Stevenson and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2021-08-17 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Grab your magical sword and take the place of your favorite fantasy character with this fun and historically accurate how-to guide to solving epic quests. What should you ask a magic mirror? How do you outwit a genie? Where should you dig for buried treasure? Fantasy media’s favorite clichés get new life from How to Slay a Dragon: A Fantasy Hero’s Guide to the Real Middle Ages, a historically accurate romp through the medieval world. Each entry presents a trope from video games, books, movies, or TV—such as saving the princess or training a wizard—as a problem for you to solve, as if you were the hero of your own fantasy quest. Through facts sourced from a rich foundation of medieval sources, you will learn how your magical problems were solved by people in the actual Middle Ages. Divided into thematic subsections based on typical stages in a fantastical epic, and inclusive of race, gender, and continent, How to Slay a Dragon is perfect if you’re curious to learn more about the time period that inspired some of your favorite magical worlds or longing to know what it would be like to be the hero of your own mythical adventure.

Download or read book To Kill a Fae written by Jamie A. Waters and published by Hidden Realms Publishing. This book was released on 2019-09-26 with total page 339 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The darkness holds more than secrets... Marked for death and on the run from the Wild Hunt, Sabine has managed to evade her fate for over a decade. But when a charming stranger with a hidden power enters her life, she is drawn into a perilous mission that threatens to shatter her veil of secrecy. Sabine is the key to unlocking a powerful artifact's defenses, but doing so means exposing her true identity and darkest secrets. In a world where the deadliest monsters don't always lurk in shadows, Sabine's battle for survival is only beginning. To Kill a Fae is the first novel in The Dragon Portal series, a romantic epic fantasy adventure featuring fae, dragons, and demons. This is an action-packed romantasy that will keep you on the edge of your seat into all hours of the night. Perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Jennifer L. Armentrout, T.A. White, and Leigh Bardugo.

Download or read book To Kill a Dragon written by Mark Grondin and published by . This book was released on 2016-11-01 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This high-fantasy novel brings to life a lively array of characters ranging from brave knights to talented wizards to powerful elves, bearing ensorcelled weapons and curses, all on personal quests to seek fame and fortune by killing a dragon.

Download or read book Killing Dragons written by Fergus Fleming and published by Open Road + Grove/Atlantic. This book was released on 2007-12-01 with total page 569 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A “dramatic and masterful” account of early alpine explorers and the challenges they faced to scale the summits (Anthony Brandt, National Geographic Adventure). In a riveting narrative of daredevils and eccentrics, Fergus Fleming gives us the breathtaking story of some of history’s greatest explorers as they conquer the soaring peaks of the Alps. Fleming recounts the incredible exploits of the men whose centuries-old fear of the mountain range turned quickly to curiosity, then to obsession, as they explored Europe’s frozen wilderness. In the late eighteenth century, French and Swiss scientists became interested in the Alps as a research destination, but in the 1850s the focus changed: the icy mountains now offered an all-out competition for British climbers who wanted to conquer ever higher and more impossible heights, and explorers fought each other on the peaks and in the press, entertaining a vast public smitten with their bravery, delighted by their personal animosities, and horrified by the disasters that befell them. “Fleming attacks his theme with verve, mining entertainment from eccentric Alpinists, sensational ascents and grisly accidents.” —Food and Travel Magazine

Download or read book How To Slay a Dragon written by Bill Allen and published by BelleBooks. This book was released on 2011-01-01 with total page 229 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Greg Hart can't slay a dragon. He'd be lucky to win a fight against one of the smaller girls at school. His only real skill is that he can run faster than any other twelve-year-old boy in his class, a necessity, since that's who he's usually running from. Oh, it's not like he's never been the hero at the center of an adventure. It's just the kind of adventures he's been involved with have always been the made-up kind he's written about in his journal. Now the magicians of Myrth have yanked Greg into a strange new world, where the monsters he must run from are far scarier--and hungrier--than anything he's ever run from before. He tries to tell everyone there's been a mistake. Ruuan is a very large dragon, while Greg, on the other hand, is neither large nor a dragon. He's barely much of a boy. Unfortunately, such trivialities could never stop the people of Myrth from believing Greg will rescue King Peter's daughter from Ruuan. After all, Greg has been named in a prophecy, and no prophecy has ever been wrong before. Why, Greg wonders, does he have to be at the heart of the first one that is?

Download or read book Flight of the Dragon Kyn written by Susan Fletcher and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 1997-11 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fifteen-year-old Kara is summoned by King Orrik, who believes she has the power to call down the dragons that have been plundering his realm, and she is caught up in the fierce rivalry between Orrik and his jealous brother Rog.

Download or read book Night of the Dragon written by Julie Kagawa and published by Harlequin. This book was released on 2020-03-31 with total page 414 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the epic finale to New York Times bestselling author Julie Kagawa’s Shadow of the Fox trilogy, the scroll has been taken, and no one is safe. To save everyone she loves from imminent death, kitsune shapeshifter Yumeko gave up the final piece of the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers. Now she and her ragtag band of companions must make one desperate final effort to stop the Master of Demons from using the scroll to call the Great Kami Dragon and make the wish that will plunge the empire into chaos. Shadow clan assassin Kage Tatsumi has regained control of his body and agreed to a true deal with the devil—the demon inside him, Hakaimono. They will share his body and work with Yumeko to stop a madman, and to separate Hakaimono from Tatsumi and the cursed sword that trapped the demon for nearly a millennium. But even with their combined skills and powers, this unlikely team of heroes knows the forces of evil may be impossible to overcome. And there is another player in the battle for the scroll, a player who has been watching, waiting for the right moment to pull strings that no one even realized existed…until now. Books in the Shadow of the Fox trilogy: Shadow of the Fox Soul of the Sword Night of the Dragon

Download or read book Slay the Dragon written by Robert Denton Bryant and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Writing for the multibillion-dollar video-game industry is unlike writing for any other medium. Slay the Dragon will help you understand the challenges and offer creative solutions to writing for a medium where the audience not only demands a great story, but to be a driving force within it. Aimed at traditional writers who want to learn interactive narrative as well as game creators who want to tell better, more emotionally involving stories, the book is written by two creative veterans of both Hollywood and "Nerdyhood." Through lively discussions and self-paced-exercises, Bryant and Giglio step you such topics as: the "no-act" structure of video games; writing great game characters; making gameplay emotionally meaningful; and bringing your game world alive.

Download or read book Fire and Sword A Dark Epic Fantasy Adventure written by Dylan Doose and published by Dylan Doose. This book was released on 2015-09-01 with total page 349 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ★★★★★ “Grim, gritty, and good.” 100,000+ copies sold worldwide! A shadow of its former self, once powerful Brynth is now a realm destroyed by plague, famine, and monstrous beings. Every corner harbors danger, and a covert war threatens to engulf the land. Amidst this chaos, Aldous Weaver's quiet life as a monk is shattered when dormant forbidden magic rises within him, leaving destruction in its wake. Condemned to die, Aldous battles to control the ancient power within. Then a chance encounter with fellow prisoners—terrifying fugitive Kendrick the Cold and arrogant monster hunter Theron Ward—offers him a choice: flee for his life or stand with his newfound allies against a peril that endangers not just him but all citizens of Brynth, the very people who would see him hanged. But with dark sorcery and ancient evil devouring the land, can anyone survive? In this tale of unlikely alliances, dark powers, and the pursuit of redemption, the fate of a fractured nation hangs in the balance. For fans of Glen Cook, Steven Erikson, and Joe Abercrombie. "An epic tale"—Library Journal Honorable mention in Library Journal's Indie Ebook Awards and a Shelf Unbound Magazine Notable 100! Read all the books in the dark and gritty Sword and Sorcery Series! Fire and Sword (Volume 1) Catacombs of Time (Volume 2) I Remember My First Time (short story) The Pyres (Volume 3) Ice and Stone (Volume 4) As They Burn (Volume 5) Black Sun Moon (Volume 6—a complete, stand-alone novel) Embers On The Wind (Volume 7) Graves of the Gods (Volume 8)

Download or read book The Rage of Dragons written by Evan Winter and published by Orbit. This book was released on 2019-02-12 with total page 522 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Game of Thrones meets Gladiator in this blockbuster debut epic fantasy about a world caught in an eternal war, and the young man who will become his people's only hope for survival. ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE'S TOP 100 FANTASY BOOKS OF ALL TIME Winner of the Reddit/Fantasy Award for Best Debut Fantasy Novel The Omehi people have been fighting an unwinnable war for almost two hundred years. The lucky ones are born gifted. One in every two thousand women has the power to call down dragons. One in every hundred men is able to magically transform himself into a bigger, stronger, faster killing machine. Everyone else is fodder, destined to fight and die in the endless war. Young, gift-less Tau knows all this, but he has a plan of escape. He's going to get himself injured, get out early, and settle down to marriage, children, and land. Only, he doesn't get the chance. Those closest to him are brutally murdered, and his grief swiftly turns to anger. Fixated on revenge, Tau dedicates himself to an unthinkable path. He'll become the greatest swordsman to ever live, a man willing to die a hundred thousand times for the chance to kill the three who betrayed him. The Rage of Dragons launches a stunning and powerful debut epic fantasy series that readers are already calling "the best fantasy book in years." The BurningThe Rage of Dragons

Download or read book The Dragon Book written by Gardner Dozois and published by Random House Australia. This book was released on 2011-08-31 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nineteen fiery dragon stories from the world’s best fantasy writers Whether portrayed as fire-breathing reptilian beasts at war with humanity or as noble creatures capable of speech and mystically bonded to the warriors who ride them, dragons have been found in nearly every culture's mythology. In modern times, they can be found far from their medieval settings in locales as mundane as suburbia or as barren as post-apocalyptic landscapes - and in THE DRAGON BOOK, today's greatest fantasists reignite the fire with legendary tales that will consume readers' imaginations.With stories by NEW YORK TIMES bestselling authors Jonathan Stroud, Gregory Maguire, Garth Nix, Diana Gabaldon, Tamora Pierce, Harry Turtledove, Sean Williams and Tad Williams as well as tales by Naomi Novik, Peter Beagle, Jane Yolen, Adam Stemple, Cecelia Holland, Kage Baker, Samuel Sykes, Diana Wynne Jones, Mary Rosenblum, Tanith Lee, Andy Duncan and Bruce Coville.

Download or read book Dragon Bound written by Thea Harrison and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2011-05-03 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: THE FIRST NOVEL IN THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING ELDER RACES SERIES! Half-human and half-wyr, Pia Giovanni spent her life keeping a low profile among the wyrkind and avoiding the continuing conflict between them and their Dark Fae enemies. But after being blackmailed into stealing a coin from the hoard of a dragon, Pia finds herself targeted by one of the most powerful—and passionate—of the Elder races. As the most feared and respected of the wyrkind, Dragos Cuelebre cannot believe someone had the audacity to steal from him, much less succeed. And when he catches the thief, Dragos spares her life, claiming her as his own to further explore the desire they’ve ignited in each other. Pia knows she must repay Dragos for her trespass, but refuses to become his slave—although she cannot deny wanting him, body and soul...

Download or read book Slaying the Dragon written by Ben Riggs and published by Jabberwocky Literary Agency, Inc.. This book was released on 2022-07-19 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dungeons & Dragons. It’s the fantasy role-playing game first conceived over fifty years ago by the now-legendary company TSR ,which has enthralled millions of devoted gamers around the world for generations. It’s a test of skill, intelligence, audacity, and survival. But no D&D game ever played could compare to the stunning behind-the-scenes melee for power and dominance that was the true story of TSR. Slaying the Dragon chronicles the rise and fall of TSR (Tactical Studies Rules), how the brilliant and wild minds of the legendary Gary Gygax and his co-creator Dave Arneson gave birth to a game that would capture the imagination of outsiders and underdogs throughout the world. From its humble beginnings in the small town of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin to its emergence as a cultural phenomenon, TSR soon spawned an unlikely empire of games and geekdom—with Dungeons & Dragons leading the way—that was decades ahead of its time, inviting both hyper-devoted fans as well as hysteria surrounding the game’s supposed corrupting influence on America’s youth. TSR was in the news, in the money, and on top of the world. But success soon took its toll, with creative control and rivalries within the firm threatening the stability of TSR. Former allies grew apart personally and professionally, and the formerly fun, freewheeling firm founded by a band of misfits collapsed into a desperate struggle for survival. Despite attempts to grow in a changing market, setbacks and management decisions put TSR in a downward spiral in the 1990s which resulted in the company's death and then resurrection by the most unlikely of saviors. With author access to previously unreleased documents and insider stories, and interviews with former TSR employees and associates who witnessed the high-stakes machinations and maneuvering that would eventually seal the company’s fate, Slaying the Dragon is a fascinating, revealing tale of friends turned enemies, success and failure, and loyalty and betrayal that no roll of the die could predict... "Riggs has written a fascinating and dishy account of the business hits and whistling misses of a band of dreamers, writers, artists, and geeks... A must-read for fighters, magic-users, and even bards -- and everyone else, too." — Brad Ricca, Edgar-nominated author of Mrs. Sherlock Holmes and True Raiders"Far from a fluff piece on a beloved hobby, this book goes behind the GM's screen to take a hard-nosed look at the people and circumstances that first gave rise to D&D, then nearly killed it -- twice. Riggs takes you on a roller-coaster from boom to near bankruptcy, but never loses sight of the individuals involved, the good, the bad, and the geeky." — Marie Brennan, Hugo-Award nominated author of the Memoirs of Lady Trent series

Download or read book The Dragon Republic written by R. F. Kuang and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2019-08-06 with total page 770 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rin’s story continues in this acclaimed sequel to The Poppy War—an epic fantasy combining the history of twentieth-century China with a gripping world of gods and monsters. The war is over. The war has just begun. Three times throughout its history, Nikan has fought for its survival in the bloody Poppy Wars. Though the third battle has just ended, shaman and warrior Rin cannot forget the atrocity she committed to save her people. Now she is on the run from her guilt, the opium addiction that holds her like a vice, and the murderous commands of the fiery Phoenix—the vengeful god who has blessed Rin with her fearsome power. Though she does not want to live, she refuses to die until she avenges the traitorous Empress who betrayed Rin’s homeland to its enemies. Her only hope is to join forces with the powerful Dragon Warlord, who plots to conquer Nikan, unseat the Empress, and create a new republic. But neither the Empress nor the Dragon Warlord are what they seem. The more Rin witnesses, the more she fears her love for Nikan will force her to use the Phoenix’s deadly power once more. Because there is nothing Rin won’t sacrifice to save her country . . . and exact her vengeance.