The stunning first volume in Janny Wurts’s epic tale of two half-brothers cursed to life-long enmity, now re-released with a striking new cover.The world of Athera lives in eternal fog, its skies obscured by the malevolent Mistwraith. Only the combined powers of two half-brothers can challenge the Mistwraith’s stranglehold: Arithon, Master of Shadow and Lysaer, Lord of Light.Arithon and Lysaer will find that they are inescapably bound inside a pattern of events dictated by their own deepest convictions. Yet there is more at stake than one battle with the Mistwraith – as the sorcerers of the Fellowship of Seven know well. For between them the half-brothers hold the balance of the world, its harmony and its future, in their hands.From Publishers WeeklyWhat promises to be a rather standard epic fantasy commences with this book, volume one in a series called The Wars of Light and Shadow. In this installment, two magic-wielding half brothers are forced by an evil geas (a delayed compulsion spell cast by the incorporeal but sorcerously potent Mistwraiths) to battle each other, nearly ripping their kingdoms asunder in the bloody fray. Arithon, Master Mage and keeper of the shadow-half of the royal magic, is a compassionate man who is constantly battling his sensitive musical nature as he struggles to come to terms with the job of ruler, which he does not want. His brother Lysaer has the power to focus light; a charming man and born ruler, he becomes cunning and devious after the Mistwraith's spell is activated. Events in the heavily foreshadowed plot conspire against the royal duo, until they are forced to pit jaded townsmen against noble barbarians in a punishing and debilitating war. They are aided in their travails by a young enchantress, Elaira, a spunky role model sure to become beloved as the series progresses, and by many wise and quirky sorcerers. Forced to do duty as a harbinger of many volumes, this tale is plot-heavy, but there are hints of the appearance of unicorns and other mythical, crowd-pleasing wonders in later installments. Veteran epic-writer Wurts ( Mistress of Empire ) brings the breadth of her experience to bear in an entertaining and readable--though not outstanding--story. Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library JournalTwo brothers, heirs to lands and locked in a blood feud, are drawn across a dimensional portal into a world where they are hailed as the promised saviors. As Arithon, the Master of Shadows, and his half-brother Lysaer, the Lord of Light, prepare to do battle against the Mistwraith, who has for centuries cloaked the world of Athera in darkness, they face an additional battle born of their mutual distrust of each other. Although fantasy author Wurts breaks no new ground in this series opener, her elaborate and vivid world-building and complex protagonists recommend this title to fans of epic fantasy.Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

War erupts in this bittersweet sequel to Of Metal and Wishes, inspired by The Phantom of the Opera and called “relentlessly engrossing” by The Romantic Times.In the year since the collapse of the slaughterhouse where Wen worked as her father’s medical assistant, she’s held all her secrets close. She works in the clinic at the weapons factory and sneaks away to nurse Bo, once the Ghost, now a boy determined to transform himself into a living machine. Their strange, fragile friendship soothes some of the ache of missing Melik, the strong-willed Noor who walked away from Wen all those months ago—but it can’t quell her fears for him. The Noor are waging a rebellion in the west. When she overhears plans to crush Melik’s people with the powerful war machines created at the factory, Wen makes the painful decision to leave behind all she has known—including Bo—to warn them. But the farther she journeys into...

Discover the original bone-chilling adventures that made Goosebumps one of the bestselling children's book series of all time!Something scary is happening in GOOSEBUMPS HORRORLAND, the all-new, all-terrifying series by R. L. Stine. Just how scary? You'll never know unless you crack open this classic prequel!Discover the fan-favorite thriller and chiller that first introduced the world to the wooden face of fear. The puppet who pulls all the strings. None other than Slappy the Dummy!Now with all-new bonus material revealing Slappy's secrets and more.

On the trail of a teddy bear thief, Nancy unwraps double-dealing and double crosses! Bess is working during the Christmas rush at Beary Wonderful, a toy and teddy bear shop, when the holiday season takes a sudden scary turn. The owner's prized collection of antique teddy bears—cute, cuddly, and worth a bundle—has been ripped off. But the break-in is only the beginning of a much bigger and more brazen teddy bear caper. The attempted theft of Bess's own bear—a replica of one of the antiques—leads Nancy to believe that more is at stake than a couple of burgled bears. For Nancy knows that even something as innocent as a teddy bear can be stuffed with intrigue!

Martina's explosive first novel of corruption and violence. No one thinks a seventeen-year-old girl can take on the hard men of London s gangland, but it s a mistake to underestimate Maura Ryan: she s tough, clever and beautiful - which makes her one very dangerous lady. Together, she and her brother Michael are unbeatable but notoriety has its price. The police are determined to put away Maura once and for all - and not everyone in the family think that's such a bad idea. When it comes to the crunch, Maura has to face the pain of lost love in her past - and the dangerous lady discovers her heart is not make entirely of stone.

Join a sneaky puppy for a joyous barnyard jaunt, and meet the many adorable babies spring has brought to a farm. There are ponies and puppies, piggies and duckies. And whether it's munching or snoozing, hiding or playing, they're all busy doing the things they love best.

A Haunting Smile, the final novel in the Land of Smiles Trilogy, is a sharply observed picture interweaving documentary film technique and montage to convey the psychological horror, personal anguish and despair of the Black May of 1992 when students, workers, along with mobile phone carrying yuppies were massacred by the military on the streets of Bangkok.Robert Tuttle and George Snow, running at break neck speed down the back alleys, hope to find a safe passage out of the nightmare of killing. The ghosts from old battlefields wander the waterholes of Patpong mingling among the drifters, demimonde arms dealers and journalists. Together they enter a matrix where massacres are a way of life, and the survivors bringing back tales of midnight secret executions."Courageous . . . someone to watch."—Peter Carey"A Haunting Smile is disturbing. Moore jars the senses with discordant juxtapositions of his now familiar HQ, an all-night coffee shop where stereotypical...

Chester Cricket needs help. That's the message John Robin carries into the Times Square subway station where Harry Cat and Tucker Mouse live. Quickly, Chester's good friends set off on the long, hard journey to the Old Meadow, where all is not well. Houses are creeping closer. Bulldozers and construction are everywhere. It looks like Chester and his friends' home will be ruined and the children of the town won't have a place to play. Harry Cat and Tucker Mouse are used to the city life. Now in the country, they need to find a place to stay and good things to eat. And most of all they must think of a plan to help their friends.

When someone targets the seaport museum in Bridgehaven, Connecticut, destroying centuries-old nautical relics, Nancy takes times from her vacation to track down the vandal.

Characters refusing to talk? Plot plodding along? Where do good ideas come from anyway? In this wonderfully practical volume, two-time Edgar Award-winning novelist Lawrence Block takes an inside look at writing as a craft and as a career. From studying the market, to mastering self-discipline and "creative procrastination," through coping with rejections, Telling Lies for Fun & Profit is an invaluable sourcebook of information. It is a must read for anyone serious about writing or understanding how the process works.

Nora knows the secrets behind the horrifying things happening on Fear Street and reveals the dark legacy that marked the start of the terror three hundred years earlier, when a young girl was burned at the stake.