Download or read book The Fall of The Kings written by Ellen Kushner and published by Bantam. This book was released on 2007-12-18 with total page 530 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This stunning follow-up to Ellen Kushner’s cult-classic novel, Swordspoint, is set in the same world of labyrinthine intrigue, where sharp swords and even sharper wits rule. Against a rich tapestry of artists and aristocrats, students, strumpets, and spies, a gentleman and a scholar will find themselves playing out an ancient drama destined to explode their society’s smug view of itself–and reveal that sometimes the best price of uncovering history is being forced to repeat it…. The Fall of the Kings Generations ago the last king fell, taking with him the final truths about a race of wizards who ruled at his side. But the blood of the kings runs deep in the land and its people, waiting for the coming together of two unusual men, Theron Campion, a young nobleman of royal lineage, is heir to an ancient house and a modern scandal. Tormented by his twin duties to his family and his own bright spirit, he seeks solace in the University. There he meets Basil St. Cloud, a brilliant and charismatic teacher ruled by a passion for knowledge–and a passion for the ancient kings. Of course, everyone now knows that the wizards were charlatans and the kings their dupes and puppets. Only Basil ins not convinced–nor is he convinced that the city has seen its last king…

Download or read book King s Fall written by Franz Busse and published by Tate Publishing. This book was released on 2011-06-14 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Hear the Brhunye Taal, speak the Brhunye Taal...' The powers of Darkness are growing in the realm of Lindfel. King Ammoron and his scheming chancellor, Lord Damon, rule the land with tyranny. But there is hope, as the prophetic Far-Seer Sandivar leads a rebellion against the king. Gideon is the third son of a provincial noble and a university student unconcerned with politics or power. But in a tragic encounter, his life is upturned, and he finds himself in the midst of the struggle to restore justice by deposing King Ammoron. If Gideon is to survive the conflict, he must master the Brhunye Taal, the ancient power of the One God, Iomthal. Only when he learns to hear the Brhunye Taal, and then speak with its power, will he succeed. The fate of the entire realm lies in his hands. Gideon and Sandivar are joined on their quest by a mysterious warrior, Teanhi, and a fugitive princess, Jenivere. Together, they are chased across the realm by the king's fearsome warriors, as each of them becomes entwined in the rebellion, and part of the King's Fall.

Download or read book Swordspoint written by Ellen Kushner and published by Spectra. This book was released on 2007-12-18 with total page 363 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The cult classic fantasy of manners, now with three bonus stories “Swordspoint has an unforgettable opening and just gets better from there.”—George R. R. Martin Hailed by critics as “a bravura performance” (Locus) and “witty, sharp-eyed, [and] full of interesting people” (Newsday), this acclaimed novel, filled with remarkable plot twists and unexpected humor, takes fantasy to an unprecedented level of elegant writing and scintillating wit. Award-winning author Ellen Kushner has created a world of unforgettable characters whose political ambitions, passionate love affairs, and age-old rivalries collide with deadly results. On the treacherous streets of Riverside, a man lives and dies by the sword. Even the nobles on the Hill turn to duels to settle their disputes. Within this elite, dangerous world, Richard St. Vier is the undisputed master, as skilled as he is ruthless—until a death by the sword is met with outrage instead of awe, and the city discovers that the line between hero and villain can be altered in the blink of an eye.

Download or read book Troy written by David Gemmell and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the conclusion of the trilogy retelling the story of Homer's "Iliad," the allies of the Mykene king Agamemnon, including a reluctant Odysseus, ruler of Ithaca, and the fierce warrior Achilles, gather to prepare a final onslaught against the Golden City of Troy.

Download or read book Gods and Kings written by Dana Thomas and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2015-02-10 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: More than two decades ago, John Galliano and Alexander McQueen arrived on the fashions scene when the business was in an artistic and economic rut. Both wanted to revolutionize fashion in a way no one had in decades. They shook the establishment out of its bourgeois, minimalist stupor with daring, sexy designs. They turned out landmark collections in mesmerizing, theatrical shows that retailers and critics still gush about and designers continue to reference. Their approach to fashion was wildly different—Galliano began as an illustrator, McQueen as a Savile Row tailor. Galliano led the way with his sensual bias-cut gowns and his voluptuous hourglass tailoring, which he presented in romantic storybook-like settings. McQueen, though nearly ten years younger than Galliano, was a brilliant technician and a visionary artist who brought a new reality to fashion, as well as an otherworldly beauty. For his first official collection at the tender age of twenty-three, McQueen did what few in fashion ever achieve: he invented a new silhouette, the Bumster. They had similar backgrounds: sensitive, shy gay men raised in tough London neighborhoods, their love of fashion nurtured by their doting mothers. Both struggled to get their businesses off the ground, despite early critical success. But by 1997, each had landed a job as creative director for couture houses owned by French tycoon Bernard Arnault, chairman of LVMH. Galliano’s and McQueen’s work for Dior and Givenchy and beyond not only influenced fashion; their distinct styles were also reflected across the media landscape. With their help, luxury fashion evolved from a clutch of small, family-owned businesses into a $280 billion-a-year global corporate industry. Executives pushed the designers to meet increasingly rapid deadlines. For both Galliano and McQueen, the pace was unsustainable. In 2010, McQueen took his own life three weeks before his womens' wear show. The same week that Galliano was fired, Forbes named Arnault the fourth richest man in the world. Two months later, Kate Middleton wore a McQueen wedding gown, instantly making the house the world’s most famous fashion brand, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art opened a wildly successful McQueen retrospective, cosponsored by the corporate owners of the McQueen brand. The corporations had won and the artists had lost. In her groundbreaking work Gods and Kings, acclaimed journalist Dana Thomas tells the true story of McQueen and Galliano. In so doing, she reveals the revolution in high fashion in the last two decades—and the price it demanded of the very ones who saved it.

Download or read book The Way of Kings written by Brandon Sanderson and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2014-03-04 with total page 1013 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A new epic fantasy series from the New York Times bestselling author chosen to complete Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time® Series

Download or read book The Privilege of the Sword written by Ellen Kushner and published by Spectra. This book was released on 2006-07-25 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the award-winning author of Swordspoint comes a witty, wicked coming-of-age story that is both edgy and timeless. . . . Welcome to Riverside, where the aristocratic and the ambitious battle for power and prestige in the city’s labyrinth of streets and ballrooms, theatres and brothels, boudoirs and salons. Into this alluring and alarming world walks a bright young woman ready to take it on and make her fortune. A well-bred country girl, Katherine knows all the rules of conventional society. Her biggest mistake is thinking they apply. Katherine’s host and uncle, Alec Campion, the capricious and decadent Mad Duke Tremontaine, is in charge here—and to him, rules are made to be broken. When he decides it would be far more amusing for his niece to learn swordplay than to follow the usual path to ballroom and husband, her world changes forever. And there’s no going back. Blade in hand, it’s up to Katherine to find her own way through a maze of secrets and betrayals, nobles and scoundrels—and to gain the power, respect, and self-discovery that come to those who master. . . . “Unholy fun, and wholly fun . . . an elegant riposte, dazzlingly executed.”—Gregory Maguire, New York Times bestselling author of Wicked

Download or read book The Rise and Fall of King Solomon written by James Hughes and published by Good Book Guides. This book was released on 2011-09 with total page 94 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Look forward to King Jesus' perfect rule and kingdom as you look back at the rise of King Solomon--and his fall.

Download or read book Ritual Violence and the Fall of the Classic Maya Kings written by Gyles Iannone and published by University Press of Florida. This book was released on 2018-11-05 with total page 383 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Maya kings who failed to ensure the prosperity of their kingdoms were subject to various forms of termination, including the ritual defacing and destruction of monuments and even violent death. This is the first comprehensive volume to focus on the varied responses to the failure of Classic period dynasties in the southern lowlands. The contributors offer new insights into the Maya "collapse," evaluating the trope of the scapegoat king and the demise of the traditional institution of kingship in the early ninth century AD--a time of intense environmental, economic, social, political, and even ideological change. A volume in the series Maya Studies, edited by Diane Z. Chase and Arlen F. Chase

Download or read book The Sport of Kings written by C. E. Morgan and published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. This book was released on 2016-05-03 with total page 561 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize Winner of the Kirkus Prize for Fiction • A Recipient of the Windham-Campbell Prize for Fiction • A Finalist for the James Tait Black Prize for Fiction • A Finalist for the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction • A Finalist for the Rathbones Folio Prize • Longlisted for an Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence • One of New York Times Book Review 100 Notable Book Named a Best Book of the Year by Entertainment Weekly • GQ • The New York Times (Selected by Dwight Garner) • NPR • The Wall Street Journal • San Francisco Chronicle • Refinery29 • Booklist • Kirkus Reviews • Commonweal Magazine "In its poetic splendor and moral seriousness, The Sport of Kings bears the traces of Faulkner, Morrison, and McCarthy. . . . It is a contemporary masterpiece."—San Francisco Chronicle Hailed by The New Yorker for its “remarkable achievements,” The Sport of Kings is an American tale centered on a horse and two families: one white, a Southern dynasty whose forefathers were among the founders of Kentucky; the other African-American, the descendants of their slaves. It is a dauntless narrative that stretches from the fields of the Virginia piedmont to the abundant pastures of the Bluegrass, and across the dark waters of the Ohio River; from the final shots of the Revolutionary War to the resounding clang of the starting bell at Churchill Downs. As C. E. Morgan unspools a fabric of shared histories, past and present converge in a Thoroughbred named Hellsmouth, heir to Secretariat and a contender for the Triple Crown. Newly confronted with one another in the quest for victory, the two families must face the consequences of their ambitions, as each is driven---and haunted---by the same, enduring question: How far away from your father can you run? A sweeping narrative of wealth and poverty, racism and rage, The Sport of Kings is an unflinching portrait of lives cast in the shadow of slavery and a moral epic for our time.

Download or read book The Ruin of Kings written by Jenn Lyons and published by Tor Books. This book was released on 2019-02-05 with total page 560 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Kirkus Best of Science Fiction and Fantasy pick for 2019! A Library Journal Best Book of 2019! An NPR Favorite Book of 2019! "Everything epic fantasy should be: rich, cruel, gorgeous, brilliant, enthralling and deeply, deeply satisfying. I loved it."—Lev Grossman, author of The Magicians When destiny calls, there's no fighting back. Kihrin grew up in the slums of Quur, a thief and a minstrel's son raised on tales of long-lost princes and magnificent quests. When he is claimed against his will as the missing son of a treasonous prince, Kihrin finds himself at the mercy of his new family's ruthless power plays and political ambitions. Practically a prisoner, Kihrin discovers that being a long-lost prince is nothing like what the storybooks promised. The storybooks have lied about a lot of other things, too: dragons, demons, gods, prophecies, and how the hero always wins. Then again, maybe he isn't the hero after all. For Kihrin is not destined to save the world. He's destined to destroy it. Jenn Lyons begins the Chorus of Dragons series with The Ruin of Kings, an epic fantasy novel about a man who discovers his fate is tied to the future of an empire. "It's impossible not to be impressed with the ambition of it all . . . a larger-than-life adventure story about thieves, wizards, assassins and kings to dwell in for a good long while."—The New York Times A Chorus of Dragons 1: The Ruin of Kings 2: The Name of All Things 3: The Memory of Souls

Download or read book Last Argument Of Kings written by Joe Abercrombie and published by Gollancz. This book was released on 2009-06-18 with total page 544 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The end is coming. Logen Ninefingers might only have one more fight in him - but it's going to be a big one. Battle rages across the North, the King of the Northmen still stands firm, and there's only one man who can stop him. His oldest friend, and his oldest enemy. It's past time for the Bloody-Nine to come home. With too many masters and too little time, Superior Glokta is fighting a different kind of war. A secret struggle in which no-one is safe, and no-one can be trusted. His days with a sword are far behind him. It's a good thing blackmail, threats and torture still work well enough. Jezal dan Luthar has decided that winning glory is far too painful, and turned his back on soldiering for a simple life with the woman he loves. But love can be painful too, and glory has a nasty habit of creeping up on a man when he least expects it. While the King of the Union lies on his deathbead, the peasants revolt and the nobles scramble to steal his crown. No-one believes that the shadow of war is falling across the very heart of the Union. The First of the Magi has a plan to save the world, as he always does. But there are risks. There is no risk more terrible, after all, than to break the First Law...

Download or read book The Fall of Gilead written by Stephen King and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2018-09-25 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Enter once more the world of Roland Deschain—and the world of the Dark Tower...now presented in a stunning graphic novel form that will unlock the doorways to terrifying secrets and bold storytelling as part of the dark fantasy masterwork and magnum opus from #1 New York Times bestselling author Stephen King. “The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.” With these unforgettable words, millions of readers were introduced to Stephen King’s iconic character Roland Deschain of Gilead. Roland is the last of his kind, a “gunslinger” charged with protecting whatever goodness and light remains in his world—a world that “moved on,” as they say. In this desolate reality—a dangerous land filled with ancient technology and deadly magic, and yet one that mirrors our own in frightening ways—Roland is on a spellbinding and soul-shattering quest to locate and somehow save the mystical nexus of all worlds, all universes: the Dark Tower. Now, in the graphic novel series Stephen King's The Dark Tower: Beginnings, originally published by Marvel Comics in single-issue form and creatively overseen by Stephen King himself, the full story of Roland's troubled past and coming-of-age is revealed. Sumptuously drawn by Jae Lee and Richard Isanove, plotted by longtime Stephen King expert Robin Furth, and scripted by New York Times bestselling author Peter David, Beginnings is an extraordinary and terrifying journey into Roland’s origins—ultimately serving as the perfect introduction for new readers to Stephen King’s modern literary classic The Dark Tower, while giving longtime fans thrilling adventures merely hinted at in his blockbuster novels. The evil deceptions woven by the merciless, mesmerizing power of the mystical seeing sphere known as “Maerlyn’s Grapefruit” warped Roland Deschain of Gilead’s sense of reality, causing him to unintentionally commit a shocking and unforgivable crime—one that may surely earn him a swift journey to the gallows. But what has happened to Roland is only a taste of the bitter fate for all of Mid-World’s noblest defenders, as the violent insanity and destructive scheming of the monstrous “Good Man” John Farson and the inhuman Marten Broadcloak finally culminate in an all-out assault on the city of Gilead itself....

Download or read book The Secret Book of Kings written by Yochi Brandes and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2016-08-23 with total page 417 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “This volume, by Biblical scholar Yochi Brandes, is a riveting novel based on textual sources about the experiences of David and Solomon. Its lessons are also relevant for our turbulent time.” —Elie Wiesel, #1 New York Times and internationally bestselling author of Night In the tradition of The Red Tent from internationally bestselling author Yochi Brandes comes the stories of the struggles of King David and King Saul in the early days of the Kingdom of Israel, seen through the eyes of Michal, Saul’s daughter and David’s abandoned queen Stories are deadlier than swords. Swords kill only those who stand before them, stories decide who will live and die in generations to come. Shelomoam, a young man from the tribe of Ephraim, has grown up in the shadow of dark secrets. He wonders why his father is deathly afraid of the King’s soldiers and why his mother has lied about the identities of those closest to him. Shelomoam is determined to unearth his mysterious past, never imagining where his quest will ultimately lead him. The Secret Book of Kings upends conventions of biblical novels, engaging with the canonized stories of the founding of the Kingdom of Israel and turning them on their heads. Presented for the first time are the heretofore unknown stories of the House of Saul and of the northern Kingdom of Israel, stories that were artfully concealed by the House of David and the scribes of the southern Kingdom of Judah. Yochi Brandes, one of Israel’s all-time bestselling novelists, enlists her unique background in both academic Jewish scholarship and traditional religious commentaries to read the Bible in an utterly new way. In this book, a major publishing phenomenon in Israel and one of the bestselling novels in the history of the country, she uncovers vibrant characters, especially women, buried deep within the scriptures, and asks the loaded question: to what extent can we really know our past when history is written by the victors?

Download or read book Bitter Brew written by William Knoedelseder and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2012-11-06 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Bitter Brew deftly chronicles the contentious succession of kings in a uniquely American dynasty. You’ll never crack open a six again without thinking of this book.” —John Sayles, Director of Eight Men Out and author of A Moment in the Sun The creators of Budweiser and Michelob beers, the Anheuser-Busch company is one of the wealthiest, most colorful and enduring family dynasties in the history of American commerce. In Bitter Brew, critically acclaimed journalist William Knoedelseder tells the riveting, often scandalous saga of the rise and fall of the dysfunctional Busch family—an epic tale of prosperity, profligacy, hubris, and the dark consequences of success that spans three centuries, from the open salvos of the Civil War to the present day.

Download or read book In the Valley of the Kings written by Terrence Holt and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2010-08-24 with total page 213 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Stories that range from outer space to the Egyptian desert.

Download or read book Richard II written by Kathryn Warner and published by Amberley Publishing Limited. This book was released on 2017-10-15 with total page 522 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A new biography re-examining the complex and fascinating king, whose very humanity saw him deposed from his divine role.