Jinn Hunter


Book Description

Oddball and loner Oliver Quinn was raised by his uncle, the proprietor of New York's most bizarre emporium of Oriental rugs, Ozymandias & Son. Zoned out more than he's zoned in, Oliver perceives patterns in everything - from fallen autumn leaves in Central Park, to the freckles on a stranger's face. When his uncle gives him a mysterious paperweight - said to have been in the family for centuries - since it was discovered by a farmer on the Mongolian Steppes - Oliver's life changes in the most extraordinary way. Gaining entry into the secret Realm that shrouds all our lives, he learns what he imagines to be reality is no more than a fragment of what actually exists. In a multiverse, where every permutation is not only possible but certain, our world is an insignificant backwater. With the veil lifted, Oliver is introduced to a parallel life form with which we share the multiverse... The mysterious and all-powerful race of Jinn. Far from the loveable blue-skinned giants projected by Hollywood, Jinn are capable of wreaking terror on an unknown scale. When they go rogue, as they frequently do, they must be captured. This perilous task is entrusted to the bravest fraternity of warriors in existence - The Jinn Hunters. Stumbling into the secret heart of the Realm, Oliver learns of the Prism. A vast penitentiary fashioned from sheets of impregnable glass, it contains legions of incarcerated Jinn. But, as Oliver soon comes to understand, his arrival is no accident. Having brooded for an eternity - since being imprisoned by King Solomon - the most evil Jinn in all existence has just escaped... Nequissimus. The future of the Realm rests on Oliver Quinn, whose ancestral bloodline is primed to capture the great Jinn, thereby saving not only humanity, but the entire multiverse. A cross between The Thousand and One Nights and The Men in Black, THE PRISM is the first awe-inspiring novel in Tahir Shah's much-awaited JINN HUNTER series. Quite possibly the most original book of its age, it lures the reader into a Twilight Zone conjured from pure imagination.







The Epic of Son-Jara


Book Description

..". a major addition to the literature on oral traditions." -- Journal of Religion in Africa This 750-year-old epic celebrates the exploits of the legendary founder of the Empire of Old Mali. It constitutes a virtual social, political, and cultural charter and embodies deep-rooted aspects of Mande cosmology. The fully annotated translation is accompanied by an introduction that provides a historical and contextual framework for understanding the recitation of this African epic.




Jinn Hunter


Book Description

Oddball and loner Oliver Quinn was raised by his uncle, the proprietor of Ozymandias & Son, New York's most bizarre emporium of Oriental rugs. Through a series of what he believes to be coincidences, Oliver discovers a portal in the basement of the shop - a portal to a magical world called Zonus. Gradually, Oliver begins to understand that everything he'd ever considered fact is fantasy, and that if he is to survive, he'll have to start thinking in an entirely new way. In reality, our world is nothing but a backwater in a colossal multiverse, where every permutation is not only possible, but certain. With the veil lifted, Oliver is introduced to the parallel life form with which we share the multiverse - the mysterious and all-powerful race of jinn. Far from the loveable blue-skinned giants projected by Hollywood, jinn are capable of wreaking terror on an unknown scale. When they go rogue, as they frequently do, they must be captured and incarcerated in the Prism, a vast penitentiary. Trapping rogue jinn is a perilous task entrusted to the Jinn Hunters, the bravest fraternity of warriors in existence. Having been accepted into the Cadenta, the training academy of Jinn Hunters, Oliver is pitted against the gravest new reality: the fact that Nequissimus, the most evil jinn in all existence, has just escaped... Born into the hallowed ancestry of the Jinnslayers, Oliver Quinn is the only man alive with a chance at defeating the great jinn, and returning him to his cell in the Prism. A cross between A Thousand and One Nights and Men in Black, THE JINNSLAYER is the second awe-inspiring novel in Tahir Shah's much-celebrated JINN HUNTER series. One of the most original books of its age, it lures the reader into a twilight zone conjured from pure imagination.




Epic Traditions of Africa


Book Description

"Belcher's volume contains a much needed and extremely well-integrated overview and discussion of a vast inter-related West African culture complex that deserves and requires the kind of original, insightful treatment it receives here." —David Conrad Epic Traditions of Africa crosses boundaries of language, distance, and time to gather material from diverse African oral epic traditions. Stephen Belcher explores the rich past and poetic force of African epics and places them in historical and social, as well as artistic contexts. Colorful narratives from Central and West African traditions are illuminated along with texts that are more widely available to Western readers—the Mande Sunjata and the Bamana Segou. Belcher also takes up questions about European influences on African epic poetry and the possibility of mutual influence through out the genre. This lively and informative volume will inspire an appreciation for the distinctive qualities of this uniquely African form of verbal art.




Death Explained: A Ghost Hunter's Guide to the Afterlife


Book Description

Death Explained: A Ghost Hunter's Guide to the Afterlife offers a unique new theory about the nature of ghosts and what happens to us after we die. Author Michael Dupler weaves together strands from physics, anthropology, history, philosophy and religion to create a tapestry telling the story of humanity - and providing a possible answer to one of our greatest questions. The book also draws on his personal experiences as a ghost hunter in the Midwest and offers tips and advice to others just beginning their own journey into the paranormal.




Jinn and Juice


Book Description

In this rowdy and raunchy urban fantasy, Lyla escaped an arranged marriage by accepting a deal from a jinni -- to live a thousand years as a jinni herself. Now, with her millennia nearly up, she's hiding out in a seedy Pittsburgh swarming with vampires, jinni and magical beings. Meet Lyla, a thousand-year-old Jinn, a belly dancer, and the hottest new urban fantasy heroine in town. With her thousand-year-long servitude ending, Lyla faces a few serious obstacles to freedom. A Magi intent on binding her again, a jinni bent on vengeance, and not to mention the nightmare from her past that threatens to make her curse permanent -- and claim her very soul. "Jinn and Juice is a raucous, raunchy tale well told. One thing's certain: you'll never look at Pittsburgh the same way after you've taken Nicole Peeler's mythic joyride up, down, and sideways in pursuit of an abducted teenage girl and freedom from a thousand-year curse. Legend and history, betrayal and love intertwine as the story moves from lascivious sex clubs to the unraveling of a mystery to a magical jinni throw-down which will leave you panting for more. Jinn and Juice is Urban Fantasy at its smartest, naughtiest, funniest best." -- Juliet Blackwell




Hunters of the Mande


Book Description




Lands of Dust


Book Description

Millions of years from now, the planet is dying. The oceans have dried into plains of ash. Strange, lethal creatures ravage the land. The surviving pockets of humanity eke out a brutal existence. But some humans have also evolved—into Magi, men who can move objects with a mere thought, and Strigas, women who can control others' minds. Once, Gorgons could do both, and were the rarest of all. But a devastating war eradicated the Gorgons, and their terrifying presence faded into legend. Miri, a powerful Striga and the chosen protector of her village by the Great Silt Sea, is sworn to defend her people against attacks by raiders and monsters. But when a mysterious young boy is found near the wastes, her once familiar world shatters, and she and her allies must journey across an unforgiving planet in order to unravel a mystery surrounding the extinction of the Gorgons—one that could change everything they thought they knew. Explore Dying World, a new dystopian science fiction series in the tradition of Jack Vance’s The Dying Earth, Gene Wolfe’s Book of the New Sun, Frank Herbert’s Dune and Star Wars—as only John Triptych could tell it!




The New Ring of Solomon


Book Description

Evil Jinn are invading our world, possessing and killing humans. The only ones aware and capable of stopping the incursion are a Sufi teacher, and his student. They must find the Shamir– a legendary device used to shape the stones of Solomon’s temple– and King Solomon's Ring.We learn the history of Solomon and his acquisition of these artefacts through Yusuf’s research. The Sufis will need to gather a band of unusually gifted seekers to perform the Sufi Ceremony of Remembrance (known as Zikr)to close the ever-widening rift between the human and jinn worlds. They set out from from Berkeley to Los Angeles guided by tenuous dreams and signs, then Mt. Shasta, Yosemite and Crystal Cave. The band of seekers gathers new members while fighting off increasingly vicious attacks from demons and Jinn. Upon meeting NANCE in the Sierra foothills, they discover that she has inherited and named her husband’s yellow Cadillac bus The Shamir. As the Jinn attacks become more brutal, Shaykh Daud explains that each one of the travelers constitutes a part of Solomon’s Ring. They are to perform the Ceremony of Remembrance (Zikr) in the Crystal Cave which will amplify the energy necessary to shut the dimensional gap permanently. Yusuf continues his revelations about King Solomon and the legends of his use of magic. Pursued by demons driving one of Nance’s cars, a Plymouth Woodie, the bus is struck broadside and plunges down a hill and crashes, killing Shaykh Daud. Yusuf must now take charge before the army of Jinn engulfs them. They discover a hole blasted by the exploding bus revealing an entrance to a section of the cave. They bury Daud quickly as the jinn and demons gather. Jumping into the cave they form a circle and begin the ritual. The crystals help amplify the energy but what at first seemed successful is quashed by the most powerful demon. They attempt the ceremony again with their remaining energy and eventually succeed. The crack between the worlds is repaired, and each can return to their homes, enriched and strengthened for the next adventure.