Comprehensive and engaging, this colourful study covers the whole sweep of ritual history from the earliest written records to the present day. From May Day revels and Midsummer fires, to Harvest Home and Hallowe'en, to the twelve days of Christmas, Ronald Hutton takes us on a fascinating journey through the ritual year in Britain. He challenges many common assumptions about the customs of the past, and debunks many myths surrounding festivals of the present, to illuminate the history of the calendar year we live by today.

One of the first systematic and critical reconstructions of the history of the social class of aliens in ancient society, this study develops new insights gained from the sociological approach to biblical literature. As Israel developed from tribal society to state, from state to confessional community and from confessional community to province, the identity and legal status of the alien developed in a concomitant way. Laws which initially afforded the alien only partial social and cultic inclusion in the pre-exilic period eventually required complete equality between the alien and Israelite in the postexilic period.

HEMINGWAY FIRST NOVEL PRIZE Critical Comment: D.T. Max, New York Times Book Review: Exceptional, smart and playful, a novel of quiet seductions. An imagined correspondence between Wilde and the author that turns into a drama of cross-century friendship. Merlin Holland; author, grandson of Oscar Wilde:A charming read. Im sure Grandfather would have seen the fun of it. Hillary Hemingway; Director, Hemingway Literary Festival: What a delight to discover this unique voice. The novel is already the buzz of New York. Jill Jackson,Syndicated columnist, King Features:A brilliant correspondence, beautifully written and researched. Very funny stuff. Ellis Hanson, Author, Decadence & Catholicism:A style so conversational and amusing, it felt like Holloway was sitting at my dinner table. Postmodern parallels with Wilde abound theatre is transmogrified into TV commercials, rentboys into go-go types in a hustler bar, Reading Gaol into a psycho-prison for sexual outcasts. They make for interesting echoes and dissonances between decadence and post-modernism, aestheticism and camp, innuendo and outness, sex as gross indecency and sex as medical problem. Giovanna Franci,Professor of English, University of Bologna, Italy:What a wonderful concept! Beautifully realized! I couldnt put it down. LINER NOTES: In February of 1993, enroute from Capetown, South Africa to Los Angeles, during a lay-over at Londons Cadogan Hotel, C. Robert Holloway is convinced he witnessed the arrest of Oscar Wilde from the very room hes occupying. After badgering a reluctant night-manager, he learns that his room is indeed the same suite from which Wilde was ignominiously hauled away to Bow Street Police Station in April of 1895. Emboldened by a split of honor-bar rose and a chocolate rush, he drafts a letter to Wilde, at once part apology - part adulation - part exorcism and no small part jet-lagged foolishness. Next morning,he deposits it in a Piccadilly post-box, and shortly departs for California, never giving it a second thought. Two weeks later a thick envelope tumbles from Holloways mail-box in West Hollywood. Filling several pages, the flamboyant hand bears a strong resemblance to Wildes. Its authors observations on Holloways lineage and threadbare education are accurate enough to unnerve him, albeit momentarily. Thus begins an audacious, outrageous, occasionally trenchant, often hilarious correspondence between a little-known TV producion designer and the most famous gay man in the Western world.

The Queen of the Vampires kidnaps Damien Argent, the captain of the vampire hunters, away from his loving family. He suffers years of torment at her hands, still holding on to the idea of his human life. Eventually, he accepts the position of King of the Vampires and marries the Queen, Heloise. He uses his new power to broker a peace deal with the humans, saving hundreds of lives. Although not everyone is happy with the new found peace. Aliens descend and with it the opportunity to win the old feuds between humans and vampires. Factions conspire against him, setting human against vampire in a renewed battle, killing his queen. But first contact is not as peaceful as thought. It is an alien invasion, wanting only to replenish its food supplies with the warm bodies of the local inhabitants. How can he put aside his feud with Ridley, the vampire hunter, his queen's killer? How can he embrace the unexpected friendship of Lorna, a sultry dark witch? Trust, Jack, the alpha of the werewolf pack? Then work together if they are to survive against the monstrous alien race? Vampires Vs Aliens: A Dark Alliance, is a mash up of when the worlds of science fiction, paranormal and supernatural collide. This is what could happen if aliens and vampire battled. Keywords: vampires, aliens, alien invasion, witches, werewolves, action adventure, war. paranormal, science fiction, sci-fi, mashup

Want to identify fiction books that boys in grades three through nine will find irresistible? This guide reveals dozens of worthwhile recommendations in categories ranging from adventure stories and sports novels to horror, humorous, and science fiction books. In Get Those Guys Reading!: Fiction and Series Books that Boys Will Love, authors Kathleen A. Baxter and Marcia A. Kochel provide compelling and current reading suggestions for younger boys—information that educators, librarians, and parents alike are desperate for. Comprising titles that are almost all well-reviewed in at least one major professional journal, or that are such big hits with kids that they've received the "stamp of approval" from the most important reviewers, this book will be invaluable to anyone whose goal is to help boys develop a healthy enthusiasm for reading. It includes chapters on adventure books; animal stories; graphic novels; historical fiction; humorous books; mystery, horror, and suspense titles; science fiction and fantasy; and sports novels. Within each chapter, the selections are further divided into books for younger readers (grades 3–6) and titles for older boys in grades 5–8. Elementary and middle school librarians and teachers, public librarians, Title One teachers, and parents of boys in grades 3–9 will all benefit greatly from having this book at hand.

This book is a study of seven very different churches in the New Testament period after the death of the apostles.

“A delectable stew of fantasy, horror, hard science fiction, and alternate history in 27 sumptuous stories and one powerful novella. . . . Stunning” (Publishers Weekly). Space opera. Superheroes. Horror and fairy tales. What if there was a multi-genre story collection available from a Nebula-award winning author? Eric James Stone’s immersive collection, The Humans in the Walls, contains twenty-seven tales of science fiction and fantasy, ranging from hard science fiction to fairy-tale fantasy, from humor to horror. Within these pages you’ll find supernatural beings, uploaded brains, psychic powers, space colonies, alternate timelines, aliens, superheroes, and giant AI starships that pay little attention to The Humans in the Walls. Each story contains special commentary by the author.