Jae is a slave in a dying desert world. Once verdant with water from a magical Well, the land is drying up, and no one remembers the magic needed to keep the water flowing. If a new source isn’t found soon, the people will perish. Jae doesn’t mind, in a way. By law, she is bound by a curse to obey every order given her, no matter how vile. At least in death, she’ll be free. Elan’s family rules the fading realm. He comes to the estate where Jae works, searching for the hidden magic needed to replenish the Well, but it’s Jae who finds it, and she who must wield it. Desperate to save his realm, Elan begs her to use it to locate the Well. But why would a slave—abused, beaten, and treated as less than human—want to save the system that shackles her? Jae would rather see the world burn. Though revenge clouds her vision, she agrees to help if the realm’s slaves are freed. Then Elan’s father arrives. The ruler’s cruelty knows no limits. He is determined that the class system will not change—and that Jae will remain a slave forever. "Ferocious and intelligent." —Kirkus Reviews "Allen’s lush debut mixes current, pressing questions with fantasy while exploring systematic injustice and historical oppression...readers will clamor for the sequel." —Publishers Weekly

The second book in The Song of the Shattered Sands series--an epic fantasy with a desert setting, filled with rich worldbuilding and pulse-pounding action. Çeda, now a Blade Maiden in service to the kings of Sharakhai, trains as one of their elite warriors, gleaning secrets even as they send her on covert missions to further their rule. She knows the dark history of the asirim—that hundreds of years ago they were enslaved to the kings against their will—but when she bonds with them as a Maiden, chaining them to her, she feels their pain as if her own. They hunger for release, they demand it, but with the power of the gods compelling them, they find their chains unbreakable. Çeda could become the champion they've been waiting for, but the need to tread carefully has never been greater. After their recent defeat at the hands of the rebel Moonless Host, the kings are hungry for blood, scouring the city in their ruthless quest for revenge. Çeda's friend Emre and his new allies in the Moonless Host hope to take advantage of the unrest in Sharakhai, despite the danger of opposing the kings and their god-given powers, and the Maidens and their deadly ebon blades. When Çeda and Emre are drawn into a plot of the blood mage Hamzakiir, they learn a devastating secret that may very well shatter the power of the hated kings. But it may all be undone if Çeda cannot learn to navigate the shifting tides of power in Sharakhai and control the growing anger of the asirim that threatens to overwhelm her...

Outrageous, hilarious, and absolutely candid, Blood Makes the Grass Grow Green is Johnny Rico’s firsthand account of fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan, a memoir that also reveals the universal truths about the madness of war. No one would have picked Johnny Rico for a soldier. The son of an aging hippie father, Johnny was overeducated and hostile to all authority. But when 9/11 happened, the twenty-six-year-old probation officer dropped everything to become an “infantry combat killer.” But if he’d thought that serving his country would be the kind of authentic experience a reader of The Catcher in the Rye would love, he quickly realized he had another thing coming. In Afghanistan he found himself living a Lord of the Flies existence among soldiers who feared civilian life more than they feared the Taliban–guys like Private Cox, a musical prodigy busy “planning his future poverty,” and Private Mulbeck, who didn’t know precisely which country he was in. Life in a combat zone meant carnage and courage–but it also meant tedious hours standing guard, punctuated with thoughtful arguments about whether Bea Arthur was still alive. Utterly uncensored and full of dark wit, Blood Makes the Grass Grow Green is a poignant, frightening, and heartfelt view of life in this and every man’s army.

In this adventure based on a true story, a Scottish soldier captured in the Napoleonic Wars converts to Islam and joins forces with the Ottoman Empire. 1807, Egypt. It is the height of the Napoleonic Wars. 6,000 British soldiers have invaded Alexandria in a bid to wrest the control of the country from the Ottoman Empire. Among their number is Private Thomas Keith of the 78th Highlanders. After the initial successful occupation of the city, however, the tide of the Alexandria campaign begins to turn against the British. At the Battle of El Hamed, Keith is captured by the Ottoman forces. While a prisoner of war, Keith is introduced to Islam and falls in love with the religion, making the decision to convert to the faith and join the Ottoman army. His conversion and skill with a sword impress the Ottoman general, who sends him to train with the Bedouin cavalry. So begins Keith’s unlikely journey up the ranks of the Ottoman military, which ultimately saw him become Emir of the Holy City of Medina . . . Praise of Blood and Sand: “[A] stirring native. . . . In this veteran British author’s hands, what might have become merely a harsh tale of violence in the deserts of Arabia becomes a memorable, sensitively rendered story.” —Publishers Weekly “An astonishing, exciting story with great imaginative power.” —The Daily Telegraph “The tone is dark and thoughtful, the detail carefully observed, and the flavor unmistakably exotic.” —The Lady

Ripping off the lid on the problems that simmer under the surface of modern-day India, Blood on the Sands is a riveting murder mystery that unfolds in the inhospitable but intriguing expanse of the Rann of Kutch.Quiet and beautiful Mankor stays in Kuran, the last Indian village on the Indo-Pak border and takes care of her two children, Samar and Ranu. Her husband Virender is a tracker at the BSF headquarters in Rapar. Virender returns home during Navratri, triumphant after nabbing Shaukat, a member of a dangerous cross-border gang involved in a heinous terror plot against India. But there’s some terrible news awaiting Virender in Kuran. Are there murky secrets that threaten to destroy his family? And what are those haunting voices that whisper about a horrifying kill? When a brutal murder takes place under mysterious circumstances, Virender’s boss, Commandant Ranbir connects it to the minute-by-minute unravelling terror plot. But was he missing something? And then little Ranu goes missing! Ranbir finds himself chasing red herrings in a race against time to find her and foil a terror plot. As Ranbir sets out to seek the truth, he discovers a terrifying web of deceit. Will he be able to save Ranu, find Virender’s killer and save the country? As chilling secrets tumble out, the end is more sinister than you can ever imagine!

*Named one of TIME's Top 100 Fantasy Books Of All Time A nobleman's daughter with magic in her blood. An empire built on the dreams of enslaved gods. Empire of Sand is Tasha Suri's lush, dazzling, Mughal India-inspired debut fantasy. The Amrithi are outcasts; nomads descended of desert spirits, they are coveted and persecuted throughout the Ambhan Empire for the power in their blood. Mehr is the illegitimate daughter of an imperial governor and an exiled Amrithi mother she can barely remember, but whose face and magic she has inherited. When Mehr's power comes to the attention of the Emperor's most feared mystics, she must use every ounce of will, subtlety, and power she possesses to resist their cruel agenda. And should she fail, the gods themselves may awaken seeking vengeance. . . "An ode to the quiet, fierce strength of women. . .pure wonder." —Samantha Shannon, New York Times bestselling author of The Priory of the Orange Tree "Stunning and enthralling." —S. A. Chakraborty, USA Today bestselling author of The City of Brass "A darkly intricate, devastating, and utterly original story." —R. F. Kuang, award-winning author of the The Poppy War By Tasha Suri: The Books of Ambha duology Empire of Sand Realm of Ash The Burning Kingdoms trilogy The Jasmine Throne