Darkness looms over Eastern Rogal. The spirits are fading, the bandits are conquering and kingdoms are crumbling. Nicolas, Justin and Dorothy must protect their families when their city, Benith, is destroyed by the Bandit Clans. After terrible struggles to survive in the Warua Forest, they join the Order of Light and learn magic. Their quest to defeat the Bandit Kings takes an unexpected turn when the spirits declare them Chosen, destined to destroy the Spirit of Calamity. From terrifying wolvans, monstrous demons, cruel bandits and the curse of the elves, Nicolas, Justin and Dorothy must overcome all obstacles or lose everything. The rise of the Archons is a story about war, struggle and hope. Ghassan Jabali is an aspiring novelist who has written various stories on fantasy, drama and science fiction. His first book, The Great Archons, was originally written when he was only 16 years old. He currently lives in Las Vegas, Nevada and studies to get his Bachelor's Degree in English.

- The first book in the Dragon Throne series, The Stone of the Stars (0-446-69098-8), was published in Aspect trade paperback in 2/04 and has already gone back to press for a second printing. The mass market edition will be published by Aspect in 7/05 and will tie in with this novel. The second novel in the series, The Empire of the Stars, will be published in Aspect trade paperback in 11/04. - Alison Baird, a highly decorated Canadian writer, is the author of The Witches of Willowmere (Penguin, 2002). The Wolves of Woden (Penguin, 2001), and The Hidden World (Penguin, 1999). She is a Silver Birch Award regional winner for The Dragon's Egg (Scholastic, 1994), received an Honorable Mention for the Year's Best Fantasy and Horror for Dragon Pearl (St. Martin's Press, 1996), and was a finalist for the IODE Violet Downey Book Award for White as the Waves (Creative, 1999). - Dragons remain one of fantasy fiction's most popular creatures. The illustrated dragon cover will clearly position. The Archons of The Stars as fantasy, which outpaces science fiction in genre sales.

Ghoulish deaths of three Catholic priests, the insides of their bodies seemingly burned away, baffles the London Metropolitan Police Department in 1920. Inspector John Nelson is requested by Commissioner Edward Allenby to handle the case. Soul-weary after his military service in World War One, John is hesitant to accept, thinking he is well past the prime of his career, but the commissioner believes that he is the best man for the job, and insists that he take the assignment. John learns that Doctor Alex Milton, an enthusiastic occult scholar, has been chosen to help him on the case. After they view one of the grisly corpses in the morgue, Alex tells John about his research on the Gnostics and their power to weld mysterious fire, suggesting that this is the cause of the uncanny deaths. He also describes a secret ancient cabal known as the Brotherhood of the Snake, which is believed to have once possessed the Amulet of Solomon, a mystical relic that is a source of this power and can be traced to Biblical times. Alex claims that shadowy demonic beings, called Archons, are connected with it. At first put off by Alex, John believes there is a perfectly rational explanation for the deaths. However, he soon comes upon haunting clues which lead him deeper into the world of the occult. After Sarah Wilford, a long-time friend of Alex, teams up with them, they come to discover that the Archons are trying to find the Amulet of Solomon and free their lord, Asmodeus, who is imprisoned inside of it. John comes to find that there is truth to what Alex has been saying, that evil forces are killing people with a supernatural energy. The investigation leads them across the English countryside to find the Archons before they can retrieve the Amulet. They come upon an old, secluded monastery in Wales where they encounter monks who are with the Brotherhood of the Snake and who can summon the same otherworldly powers to fight the rancorous demons. Only with their help, can Asmodeus and the Archons be defeated, and the Amulet reclaimed... before the world falls into terrible darkness.

The Archons of Lycanth plot once again to conquer Orissa, home of Almaric Antero. His return from the fabled far kingdoms with tomes of arcane sorcery had stymied their plans, but now their own newfound magic contends for mastery. But wars are not won by magic alone.

Young, pampered Amalric Antero cared only for real places and possible dreams. The time had come to find his trade wind, to make the traditional journey seeking out new lands, new riches, and new customers as his merchant father, and his father's father, had done before him. Original.