A Tale of Light and Shadow


Book Description

Enter Atolas, a world where swords and daggers both extend life and end it, where magic is feared by all but a few, and where feuds and friendships influence kingdoms and courtships. Henry and Isabelle have secretly sworn to marry despite his lowly station as a carpenter, but his devotion to her drives him to commit an unthinkable act that may cost both of them their lives. At the same time, a secret, dark prophecy has set in motion events that will affect not only them, but the thrones of rulers throughout all of Atolas, threatening to eclipse the world in shadow. But all is not lost while hope remains in the guise of an unlikely hero and the strength of friendship.




A Tale of Stars and Shadow: An Epic Fantasy Adventure


Book Description

A corrupt kingdom. A rising darkness. Can a broken warrior save a world? Mithranar is a country divided by ignorance and magic. Oppressed by their winged folk rulers, humans struggle to eke out an existence. Their only help comes from the mysterious Shadowhawk, a criminal who has evaded all attempts at capture. Meanwhile, something else … something violent … stalks the streets, and it has ambitions that could bring Mithranar to its knees. The arrival of a foreign warrior will change everything. Descended from the ruling house of the kingdom of the Twin Thrones, Talyn Dynan is a born warrior. But after a combat mission goes tragically wrong, she is left broken and wracked with guilt, her confidence in tatters. A dangerous mission to the allied country of Mithranar is her final chance to prove she can still be an elite warrior. And it could change the world. Or end in her death. A Tale of Stars and Shadow is the first book in an adult epic fantasy series for readers who love: political intrigue, found family, a hint of magic, and a strong female lead. Perfect for those who love DK Holmberg, Philip C Quaintrell, and Christopher Mitchell.




Shadows Rising (World of Warcraft: Shadowlands)


Book Description

An all-new official prequel novel to Shadowlands, the next expansion for Blizzard Entertainment’s legendary online game World of Warcraft “The Horde is nothing!” With those infamous words, Sylvanas Windrunner betrayed and abandoned the Horde she vowed to serve. The Dark Lady and her forces now work in the shadows as both the Horde and Alliance, including her own sister, Alleria, race to uncover her next move. Struggling to shoulder the crushing weight of leadership, King Anduin entrusts the void elf and High Exarch Turalyon to uncover Sylvanas’s whereabouts. The Horde now stands at a crossroads. The various factions form a council, leaving the mantle of warchief to rest. Thrall, Lor’themar Theron, Baine Bloodhoof, First Arcanist Thalyssra, and many other familiar faces rise to this new challenge. But the threats are numerous, and the distrust runs too deep. When the council is derailed by a failed assassination attempt on Talanji—the Zandalari queen and a key ally—Thrall and the rest of the Horde leaders are forced into action. They empower the young troll shaman Zekhan, still grieving the loss of Varok Saurfang, with a critical mission to aid Talanji and help uncover the rising threat against her. Meanwhile, Nathanos Blightcaller and Sira Moonwarden have been tasked by the Dark Lady with a terrifying gambit: to kill the troll loa of death himself, Bwonsamdi. As Zekhan and Talanji work to save Bwonsamdi, their journey will be a key turning point in bolstering the Horde against the coming darkness and finding themselves along the way. Failure to save their allies and the trickster god will surely doom them—but through success, they may rediscover what makes the Horde strong.




Shadows in the Vineyard


Book Description

Journalist Maximillian Potter uncovers a fascinating plot to destroy the vines of La Romance-Conti, Burgundy's finest and most expensive wine. In January 2010, Aubert de Villaine, the famed proprietor of the Domaine de la Romance-Conti, the tiny, storied vineyard that produces the most expensive, exquisite wines in the world, received an anonymous note threatening the destruction of his priceless vines by poison—a crime that in the world of high-end wine is akin to murder—unless he paid a one million euro ransom. Villaine believed it to be a sick joke, but that proved a fatal miscalculation and the crime shocked this fabled region of France. The sinister story that Vanity Fair journalist Maximillian Potter uncovered would lead to a sting operation by some of France's top detectives, the primary suspect's suicide, and a dramatic investigation. This botanical crime threatened to destroy the fiercely traditional culture surrounding the world's greatest wine. Shadows in the Vineyard takes us deep into a captivating world full of fascinating characters, small-town French politics, an unforgettable narrative, and a local culture defined by the twinned veins of excess and vitality and the deep reverent attention to the land that runs through it.




The Village of Shadows


Book Description

In a quiet village, disaster strikes in the form of an apparent, vicious murder. This is followed by a series of bizarre deaths. The frightened villagers seek supernatural explanations. All the superstition that lay under the peaceful life of the villagers surface. Who was the murderer? In a tale of murder, mystery, fear and magic, find out if the villagers would be able to comprehend and fight the forces against them in The Village of Shadows.




The Day I Met My Shadow


Book Description

When a little boy goes outside to play, he discovers something mysterious, which he can't seem to get away from, no matter how hard he tries.




MIND SHADOWS: Tales That Awaken Your Midnight Dreams


Book Description

Two fishermen pursue the prized fish of their dreams, only to be caught by the nightmare of their lives... A cursed valley and one man's decision that changes everything... a grandmother's desperate act of love to save her grandchild from the streets... a homeless man battles with a streetlight that he is convinced is making life and death choices... Legends. Nightmares. Childhood fears. Rumors. Old wives' tales. Urban folklore. What if they were true? Eight strongly crafted tales and novellas by author R. D. Barnes, in a style reminiscent of Rod Serling's "Twilight Zone" and "Night Gallery" stories and Stephen King's short fiction. If you enjoy the art of the story, you will absolutely love "Mind Shadows."




In Light of Shadows


Book Description

In Light of Shadows is the long-awaited second volume of short fiction by the Meiji-TaishÅ writer Izumi KyÅ ka. It includes the famous novella Uta andon (A story by lantern light), the bizarre, anti-psychological story "Mayu kakushi no rei' (A quiet obsession), and KyÅ ka's hauntingly erotic final work, "RukÅ shyinsÅ " (The heart-vine), as well as critical discussions of each of these three tales. Translator Charles Inouye places KyÅ ka's "literature of shadows" (ka no bungaku) within a worldwide gothic tradition even as he refines its Japanese context. Underscoring KyÅ ka's relevance for a contemporary international audience, Inouye adjusts Tanizaki Jun'ichirÅ 's evaluation of KyÅ ka as the most Japanese of authors by demonstrating how the writer's paradigm of the suffering heroine can be linked to his exposure to Christianity, to a beautiful American woman, and to the aesthetic of blood sacrifice. In Light of Shadows masterfully conveys the magic allusiveness and elliptical style of this extraordinary writer, who Mishima Yukio called "the only genius of modern Japanese letters."




A Shadow's Tale


Book Description

Divina felt joy and sadness as she lay in the palace bed. Through good fortune as a serf, she and her sister, Carolina, had freed King Vicentros son, Prince Roderick, from his curse as a lily growing next to the pond where the two women hunted for frogs for a living. Prince Roderick married Carolina and brought Divina and her mother into the palace. Divina was sad because she missed her father who disappeared several years ago. As she mused, Divina was startled to see an apparition at the foot of her bed. I am Zelda, said the apparition. I am the sorcerer Barmellos assistant. Your father is not dead. When King Vicentro suspected Peter might thwart his attempt to conquer the peaceful fief of King Celentro, he had Barmello turn Peter into a ghost and lock him into the Valley of Shadows. Peters soul is locked. He has no self or personality. I have stolen the incantations, which will allow you to enter the Valley of Shadows and retrieve your father as a whole person. But by mistake Zelda sends Peters ghost and Divina into a strange world where they confront danger and magic that tests his unstable personality and her resolve. A Shadows Tale is an entertaining and instructive modern fable that takes the reader on a journey both mythical and practical, showing how Peter learns who he is and breaks the five locks binding his soul, and how Divina matures from an insecure teenager into a confident woman.As she mused, Divina was startled to see an apparition at the foot of her bed. "I am Zelda," said the apparition. "I am the sorcerer Barmello's assistant. Your father is not dead. When King Vicentro suspected Peter might thwart his attempt to conquer the peaceful fife of King Celentro. He had his sorcerer Barmello turn Peter into a ghost and lock him in the Valley of Shadows. Peter's soul is locked. He has no self or personality. I have stolen the incantations, which will allow you to enter the Valley of Shadows and retrieve your father as a whole complete person." But by mistake Zelda sends Peter's ghost and Divina into a strange world. In this strange world Divina and Peter confront danger and magic that tests his unstable personality and her resolve. Peter fights puppets and turns the mirage of a castle into a real one. Divina is changed into goo, thrown off of a cliff, and sentenced to death. As Peter learns whom he is and how to react to adversity, he is able to break the five locks upon his soul. With the help of friends they meet on their journey, they find a way out of this alien land.




The Shadows


Book Description

"This is absorbing, headlong reading, a play on classic horror with an inventiveness of its own... As with all the best illusions, you are left feeling not tricked, but full of wonder." – The New York Times The haunting new thriller from Alex North, author of the New York Times bestseller The Whisper Man You knew a teenager like Charlie Crabtree. A dark imagination, a sinister smile--always on the outside of the group. Some part of you suspected he might be capable of doing something awful. Twenty-five years ago, Crabtree did just that, committing a murder so shocking that it’s attracted that strange kind of infamy that only exists on the darkest corners of the internet--and inspired more than one copycat. Paul Adams remembers the case all too well: Crabtree--and his victim--were Paul’s friends. Paul has slowly put his life back together. But now his mother, old and suffering from dementia, has taken a turn for the worse. Though every inch of him resists, it is time to come home. It's not long before things start to go wrong. Paul learns that Detective Amanda Beck is investigating another copycat that has struck in the nearby town of Featherbank. His mother is distressed, insistent that there's something in the house. And someone is following him. Which reminds him of the most unsettling thing about that awful day twenty-five years ago. It wasn't just the murder. It was the fact that afterward, Charlie Crabtree was never seen again...