The Way of the Wandering Wizard


Book Description

Gentle wizard Mikal Novastar's life is complacent and secure as a mystic instructor at the School of the Three Moons in the Great City of Addis. This changes, however, when an extraordinary prophecy urges him to embark upon a heroic and dangerous adventure. Armed with a staff of light and joined by his summoned feline Majam, and an inscrutable thief, and a very young half-elf, Mikal must overcome vicious wererats, ghastly blood goblins, horrific gloomhounds, savage slavers, an exceptional and mysterious Stone Mage, and the enigmatic dragon Em-Le. Nothing could have prepared him, however, for dealing with the calculating evil of Path Bloodhue and his powerful Red Robed Wizards. And against the legion of the perfidious Black Robed Wizards, with their lethal dark assassins and brutal black blades, how can he possibly hope to triumph or even survive? And then there are the squirrels.




Children's Tales for the Young and Old


Book Description

In times when we have needed them, children's tales have often been a light in the darkness that has proven time and time again to help overcome any and all obstacles that maybe in our path. Here is a collection of Tales that I have written and all of them have a lesson to learn from them; whether it be of acceptance or of how fighting for something that you believe in will help win the day, or just having a bad day and in need of something fun; here I lay before you all a series of 10 stories that I have told my children before and those whom I have had the privilege of telling them to.




The Secular Wizard


Book Description

In sunny Latruria, the wicked old king was dead, and the new king spurned the rule of Evil. But turmoil began to spread, even across the border, when the new king also resisted Good! In nearby Merovence, Lord Wizard Matt Mantrell donned a disguise and set off to investigate--never dreaming that Latruria's sinister prime minister was mobilizing his minions... "Minstrel" Matt sang his way south, dodging deadly enemies and music critics alike. He was teamed with a lovesick lad, menaced by a manticore, haunted by a ghost from Greece, and swept along in a flood of youngsters fleeing the provinces for the "glamor" of the city. But when they all washed up in the capital, harsh reality awaited them, not gold-paved streets. And even harsher reality awaited Matt. The Lord Wizard faced the ultimate test of magic--and he would need a lot of help to pass!




A Beginner’s Book of TEX


Book Description

The last two decades have witnessed a revolution in the realm of typography, with the virtual disappearance of hot-lead typesetting in favor of the so-called digital typesetting. The principle behind the new technology is simple: imagine a very fine mesh superimposed on a sheet of paper. Digital typesetting consists in darkening the appropriate pixels (tiny squares) of this mesh, in patterns corresponding to each character and symbol of the text being set. The actual darkening is done by some printing device, say a laser printer or phototypesetter, which must be told exactly where the ink should go. Since the mesh is very fine-the dashes surrounding this sentence are some six pixels thick, and more than 200 pixels long-the printer can only be controlled by a computer program, which takes a "high-level" description of the page in terms of text, fonts, and formatting commands, and digests all of that into "low-level" commands for the printer. TEX is such a program, created by Donald E. Knuth, a computer scientist at Stanford University.




The Wizard's Dilemma


Book Description

A novel “filled with very credible teen angst, morality, and an intriguing blend of science fiction and fantasy” from the author of A Wizard Abroad (School Library Journal). Still recovering from an overly eventful vacation in Ireland, teenage wizard Nita Callahan is looking forward to some peace and quiet in her suburban New York home. Instead, her close friend Kit seems to be acting a little weird, and Nita keeps running into problems for which wizardry either isn’t the answer or else it’s the wrong one. How do you fix what can’t be fixed? Only the Transcendent Pig knows, and it’s not telling. But Nita needs to find out—and soon. Her wizardly partnership with Kit starts to fall apart. Much worse, her mother gets sick . . . so sick she may never leave the hospital.Only one person can help Nita—the One she’s devoted her life to fighting. “Powerful and satisfying.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “A gripping and dynamic fantasy . . . Fans of the author will flock to this new adventure, which likely will bring new readers to the series.”—VOYA Praise for the Young Wizards series “Duane is tops in the high adventure business . . . This rollicking yarn will delight readers.”—Publishers Weekly “High Wizardry is . . . high entertainment.”—Locus “Recommend this series to young teens who devour books about magic and wizards . . . or kids looking for ‘Harry Potter’ read-alikes.”—School Library Journal “Stands between the works of Diana Wynne Jones . . . and Madeleine L’Engle . . . An outstanding, original work.”—The Horn Book




The Hobbit


Book Description

This deluxe hardcover edition of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic prelude to his Lord of the Rings trilogy contains a short introduction by Christopher Tolkien, a reset text incorporating the most up-to-date corrections, and all of Tolkien’s own drawings and full-color illustrations, including the rare “Mirkwood” piece. J.R.R. Tolkien's own description for the original edition: "If you care for journeys there and back, out of the comfortable Western world, over the edge of the Wild, and home again, and can take an interest in a humble hero (blessed with a little wisdom and a little courage and considerable good luck), here is a record of such a journey and such a traveler. The period is the ancient time between the age of Faerie and the dominion of men, when the famous forest of Mirkwood was still standing, and the mountains were full of danger. In following the path of this humble adventurer, you will learn by the way (as he did) -- if you do not already know all about these things -- much about trolls, goblins, dwarves, and elves, and get some glimpses into the history and politics of a neglected but important period. For Mr. Bilbo Baggins visited various notable persons; conversed with the dragon, Smaug the Magnificent; and was present, rather unwillingly, at the Battle of the Five Armies. This is all the more remarkable, since he was a hobbit. Hobbits have hitherto been passed over in history and legend, perhaps because they as a rule preferred comfort to excitement. But this account, based on his personal memoirs, of the one exciting year in the otherwise quiet life of Mr. Baggins will give you a fair idea of the estimable people now (it is said) becoming rather rare. They do not like noise."




Halfelfin


Book Description

Follow the adventures of the Orthelios Twins as they reunite after years of estrangement to face a long dormant evil risen to claim the world as her own.




The Hobbit


Book Description

"The reluctant Hobbit hero Bilbo Baggins is asked to join the band, for they can hardly hope to succeed as an unlucky thirteen. Bilbo finally agrees to the adventure! They encounter the dangerous trolls, then escape into Goblin country where Bilbo finds a gold ring with magical power. It's a ring of invisibility. Bilbo is cautious and thoughtful but saves them in every crisis, even in the climactic scene with the dragon Smaug."--Publisher website.




The Wizard


Book Description

A novel in two volumes, The Wizard Knight is in the rare company of those works which move past the surface of fantasy and drink from the wellspring of myth. Magic swords, dragons, giants, quests, love, honor, nobility-all the familiar features of fantasy come to fresh life in this masterful work. The first half of the journey, The Knight -- which you are advised to read first, to let the whole story engulf you from the beginning -- took a teenage boy from America into Mythgarthr, the middle realm of seven fantastic worlds. Above are the gods of Skai; below are the capricious Aelf, and more dangerous things still. Journeying throughout Mythgarthr, Able gains a new brother, an Aelf queen lover, a supernatural hound, and the desire to prove his honor and become the noble knight he always knew he would be. Coming into Jotunland, home of the Frost Giants, Able -- now Sir Able of the High Heart --claims the great sword Eterne from the dragon who has it. In reward, he is ushered into the castle of the Valfather, king of all the Gods of Skai. Thus begins the second part of his quest. The Wizard begins with Able's return to Mythgathr on his steed Cloud, a great mare the color of her name. Able is filled with new knowledge of the ways of the seven-fold world and possessed of great magical secrets. His knighthood now beyond question, Able works to fulfill his vows to his king, his lover, his friends, his gods, and even his enemies. Able must set his world right, restoring the proper order among the denizens of all the seven worlds. The Wizard is a charming, riveting, emotionally charged tale of wonders, written with all the beauty one would expect from a writer whom Damon Knight called "a national treasure." If you've never sampled the works of the man Michael Swanwick described as "the greatest writer in the English language alive today," the two volumes of The Wizard Knight are the perfect place to start. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.




Introducing English Grammar


Book Description

Answering key questions such as 'Why study grammar?' and 'What is standard English?', Introducing English Grammar guides readers through the practical analysis of the syntax of English sentences. With all special terms carefully explained as they are introduced, the book is written for readers with no previous experience of grammatical analysis. It is ideal for all those beginning their study of linguistics, English language or speech pathology, as well as students with primarily literary interests who need to cover the basics of linguistic analysis. The approach taken is in line with current research in grammar, a particular advantage for students who may go on to study syntax in more depth. All the examples and exercises use real language taken from newspaper articles, non-standard dialects and include excerpts from studies of patients with language difficulties. Students are encouraged to think about the terminology as a tool kit for studying language and to test what can and cannot be described using these tools. This new edition has been fully revised in line with recent research. There is a new chapter on World English, a new glossary and a free website with extensive further reading and answers to the exercises.