Epic Literature

This brilliant new treatment of the world's oldest epic is a literary event on par with Seamus Heaney's wildly popular Beowulf translation. Esteemed translator and best-selling author Stephen Mitchell energizes a heroic tale so old it predates Homer's Iliad by more than a millennium.

Hadrian Blackwater, a warrior with nothing to fight for, is paired with Royce Melborn, a thieving assassin with nothing to lose. Hired by an old wizard, they must steal a treasure that no one can reach. The Crown Tower is the impregnable remains of the grandest fortress ever built and home to the realm’s most prized possessions. But it isn’t gold or jewels that the wizard is after, and if he can just keep them from killing each other, they just might succeed.

Once upon a time...there was a girl whose father inhabited the body of a beast for a time and whose mother couldn't seem to keep her nose out of a book. Mirabel can't imagine summer without the solstice ball her family throws every year—the music, the roses, everything looking picture perfect, like it came out of one of her mother's books. But when a young man at the ball snubs an enchantress in disguise and chooses Mirabel to dance with instead, the summer begins to look a lot less wonderful.

The City Watch needs men! But what it's got includes Corporal Carrot (technically a dwarf), Lance-Constable Cuddy (really a dwarf), Lance-Constable Detritus (a troll), Lance-Constable Angua (a woman...most of the time) and Corporal Nobbs (disqualified from the human race for shoving). And they need all the help they can get, because someone in Ankh-Morpork has been getting dangerous ideas - about crowns and legendary swords and destiny.

Lifelong friends, they went their separate ways. Now they are together again, though each holds secrets from the others in his heart. They speak of a world shadowed with rumors of war. They speak of tales of strange monsters, creatures of myth, creatures of legend. They do not speak of their secrets. Not then. Not until a chance encounter with a beautiful, sorrowful woman, who bears a magical crystal staff, draws the companions deeper into the shadows, forever changing their lives and shaping the fate of the world.

After the events of Sons of the Oak, Fallion and Jaz, the sons of the great Earth King Gaborn, are living as fugitives in their own kingdom, newly invaded and secretly controlled by supernatural beings of ultimate evil. The sons are hiding until they can regain their rightful places in the land. Fallion seems destined to heal the world and feels the supernatural calling to act. When he summons his powers to do so, though, two entire worlds collapse into one, and every living thing in both worlds is transformed into an entirely new being - yet still somehow the same. Evil is certainly still the same - and may have influenced all of this for a terrible purpose.

As long as he can remember, Castor has wanted nothing more than to fuse with a Cor Heart. Made from an otherworldly metal, it would give him the ability to bind a Symbol and manipulate the elements. The day of trial has finally arrived—a chance for Castor to prove his worth. Only after winning the Empress’ blessing can he begin his life of adventure. When his chance is interrupted by a vicious attack, he finds his home in ruins and his family in mortal peril.

As the university prepares for an expedition to Thameland, Alex makes himself ready by growing stronger, taking summer courses on magic and spending time with his new friends and family. But conspiracy brews in Generasi. Demonic attacks target the expedition, and as the city prepares for its annual Games of Roal, Alex must make sure that his own secrets don’t come back to bite him.

Like every other hobbit, Bilbo Baggins likes nothing better than a quiet evening in his snug hole in the ground, dining on a sumptuous dinner in front of a fire. But when a wandering wizard captivates him with tales of the unknown, Bilbo becomes restless. Soon he joins the wizard’s band of homeless dwarves in search of giant spiders, savage wolves, and other dangers. Bilbo quickly tires of the quest for adventure and longs for the security of his familiar home. But before he can return to his life of comfort, he must face the greatest threat of all.

Ever since he was a kid, all Balt Vana wanted was to be a world-renowned Jekua Summoner like his grandmother, battling other Summoners in front of audiences of thousands. From where he stands now, living up to the Vana name feels impossible. But when his best friend Alani–an initiate at the local Church–is sent on a pilgrimage to find her path in life and the god she will follow, Balt sees the perfect opportunity to launch his career by escorting her across the archipelago and its purple seas.

Long ago, the wars of the ancient Evil ruined the world. In peaceful Shady Vale, half-elfin Shea Ohmsford knows little of such troubles. But the supposedly dead Warlock Lord is plotting to destroy everything in his wake. The sole weapon against this Power of Darkness is the Sword of Shannara, which can be used only by a true heir of Shannara. On Shea, last of the bloodline, rests the hope of all the races.

Renowned storyteller Philip Pullman returns to the parallel world of Lyra Belacqua and His Dark Materials for a thrilling and epic adventure in which daemons, alethiometers, and the Magisterium all play parts.

Amina al-Sirafi should be content. After a storied and scandalous career as one of the Indian Ocean’s most notorious pirates, she’s survived backstabbing rogues, vengeful merchant princes, several husbands, and one actual demon to retire peacefully with her family to a life of piety, motherhood, and absolutely nothing that hints of the supernatural.

The gods are dead. Their age-old reign destroyed by sorcery and war. A young queen must steer her people through the wreckage left behind. Queen Ariane trusts her dreams, so listens when a sorceress calls out to her from the void. Ysaren warns the queen must find her missing cousin, Lord Tamersane who vanished after the war. Feared lost in the hostile City of the Clouds. He alone has the strength to wield the legendary bow of Kerasheva against the power-crazed emperor of Ptarni.

A young man lives among the trees of a primeval forest, raised by a wizened old sage and friend to the faeries and spirits of his home. He bears only half a name—Lien, an ancient word meaning "blade" or "edge"—and no knowledge of his heritage. As he grows, so too does his need for independence and answers. Thus, he begins his adventure, seeking a shattered sword and the truth behind the mysterious mark on his right hand.

Experience the bundle of the first three volumes from the series Rise of the Weakest Summoner in one go! Jump straight into the vast world of Kraedorion and multiple other realms to explore them alongside Asterios and his adventuring party as they discover more about him and his life!

The Two Towers is the second volume of J.R.R. Tolkien's epic saga, The Lord of the Rings. The Fellowship has been forced to split up. Frodo and Sam must continue alone towards Mount Doom, where the One Ring must be destroyed. Meanwhile, at Helm’s Deep and Isengard, the first great battles of the War of the Ring take shape. In this splendid, unabridged audio production of Tolkien’s great work, all the inhabitants of a magical universe - hobbits, elves, and wizards - spring to life. Rob Inglis’ narration has been praised as a masterpiece of audio.

After a grueling trial, Alex Roth had reached the University of Generasi and learned much about the Mark of the Fool and how to exploit it for new paths of power. Making friends and training in alchemy, all seemed to be going well. But shadows stir. The dark secrets of his homeland haunt him. His sister—Selina—learns that she is what she hates most. And unfriendly, monstrous eyes track him.

It began on New Year’s Eve. The sickness came on suddenly, and spread quickly. The fear spread even faster. Within weeks, everything people counted on began to fail them. The electrical grid sputtered; law and government collapsed - and more than half of the world’s population was decimated. Where there had been order, there was now chaos. And as the power of science and technology receded, magick rose up in its place.

Once little more than a doll on a shelf, Luxeria has ascended the throne and begun her quest for revenge. Armed with incredible magic, past-life memories, and the five Sacred Swords, she cleaves away the corrupted roots of the state. Her investigation into the depths of her enemies' sins reveals a disturbing truth: a shocking number of magical children have gone missing from the city. But to what end? When our bloodthirsty queen uncovers the true horrors wrought by those in power, heads are bound to roll!