“For headling, nonstop adventure and for vivid, even florid, scenery, no one even comes close to Howard.”—Harry Turtledove In a meteoric career that covered only a dozen years, Robert E. Howard defined the sword-and-sorcery genre. In doing so, he brought to life the archetypal adventurer known to millions around the world as Conan the barbarian. Witness, then, Howard at his finest, and Conan at his most savage, in the latest volume featuring the collected works of Robert E. Howard, lavishly illustrated by award-winning artist Greg Manchess. Prepared directly from the earliest known versions—often Howard’s own manuscripts—are such sword-and-sorcery classics as “The Servants of Bit-Yakin” (formerly published as “Jewels of Gwahlur”), “Beyond the Black River,” “The Black Stranger,” “Man-Eaters of Zamboula” (formerly published as “Shadows in Zamboula”), and, perhaps his most famous adventure of all, “Red Nails.” The Conquering Sword of Conan includes never-before-published outlines, notes, and story drafts, plus a new introduction, personal correspondence, and the revealing essay “Hyborian Genesis”—which chronicles the history of the creation of the Conan series. Truly, this is heroic fantasy at its finest.

Following the events of An Earthly Crown, the jaran conquest of Rhui intensifies as rebel hearts simmer with conflicting loyalties Across Rhui, the jaran have been taking over towns and bending all non-jaran to the law of their rule. With Ilya Bakhtiian in charge, the nomadic fighters are now preparing an assault on the royal city of Karkand. But within the campaign, another struggle looms. Ilya’s wife, Tess, is not from Rhui, but from Earth, and her brother, Charles, is a duke of the empire that includes Rhui, even though he once instigated a rebellion against it. Still driven by thoughts of a human revolt, Charles travels to Rhui for key information about the past, hoping to bring back his sister—his only heir. Does she want to passively abide by either man’s plan for her, though, and is any challenge to the ancient and mighty Chapalii realistic? His Conquering Sword is the third volume of the Novels of the Jaran, which begin with Jaran and An Earthly Crown and conclude with The Law of Becoming.

DIVDIVIn the second book of Kate Elliott’s Novels of the Jaran, Tess Soerensen is pulled between two powerful men—her brother and her husband—and their competing revolutions/divDIV/divDIV On the planet Rhui, the nomadic tribes of the jaran are uniting the settled cities of their homeland one by one. Their charismatic leader, Ilya Bakhtiian, has his loyal wife by his side, but there is something about her he doesn’t know: Tess Soerensen is a human. And not just any human—back home, her brother, Charles, led an unsuccessful revolt against the all-powerful Chapalii empire. Even though Charles was later made a duke in the Chapalii system, his revolutionary bent has not faded, and he is traveling to Rhui to locate Tess and uncover precious information about a past insurgency. Charles’s insistence that Tess join him is as strong as Ilya’s reluctance to part with his beloved wife—and neither considers that Tess may have her own plans for the future. As three fiercely independent spirits struggle for a solution, the fates of both the human race and the jaran hang in the balance./divDIV /divAn Earthly Crown is the second volume of the Novels of the Jaran, which also include Jaran, His Conquering Sword, and The Law of Becoming. /div

The intense psychological portrait of a hitman—the anti-Jason Bourne—as he stalks his prey from Boston to LA. He wants you to know him, maybe even admire him, but only for his excellence in his craft. Perhaps he was even born for it. "A natural killer," his mentor—a middleman named Vespucci—said he was. He proved it with his first professional hit: a Fifth Circuit Court judge in Boston, executed with a sheet of Saran Wrap in the stairwell of her own courthouse. He's proved his merit often, usually with a Glock semiautomatic, but he's improvised too, with his bare hands, the heel of a shoe, knives, even a sewing machine. He is the consummate assassin, at the top of his form, immune to the psychological strains of his chosen profession. He is what the Russians call a Silver Bear. He calls himself Columbus. It's the name Vespucci gave him, ten years ago, when he discovered a dark, new world of fences, clients, marks, jobs, jack. Not that his real name meant much to him anyway. He never knew his father or his mother, a prostitute who became dangerously involved back in the seventies with an earnest young congressman named Abe Mann, then a rising star in the Democratic Party. The magnetic Abe Mann has since become the Speaker of the House. He is currently running for the Democratic nomination in an exhausting presidential campaign, weaving his way across the country. Columbus is not far behind. But as he pieces together his past and prepares the seamless assassination of his mark, the criminal underworld he has always ruled begins unraveling violently around him.

The Seeker of Truth takes his rightful place as the new ruler of D’Hara in the third novel of the #1 New York Times–bestselling author’s epic fantasy series. After escaping from the Palace of Prophets, Richard comes to terms with his true identity as a War Wizard. But when he brings down the barrier between the Old and New Worlds, the Imperial Order suddenly poses a threat to the the freedom of all humankind. As the Imperial Order sends delegations and armies into the New World, Richard’s only chance to stop the invasion is to claim his heritage as the new Lord Rahl and ruler of D’Hara. But convincing the D’Harans of his legitimacy won’t be easy. Meanwhile, a powerful enemy is on the trail of Richard’s love, Kahlan Amnell. And when the spell Richard cast to protect her is broken, he must martial his newfound authority—and the armies that come with it—to save her life.

Flame-haired Princess Torina knows nothing of battles and conquest until her father, the king of Bellandra, returns home with an orphaned prince from the neighbouring enemy kingdom. The boy prince is offered to Torina as a slave, but she frees him from his bonds and their unusual friendship develops in the years that follow. But Torina faces terrible danger - she has an amazing gift that many would kill for, and when her father is brutally murdered she is forced to flee for her life. An evil usurper takes over her rightful throne, and the kingdom is ruled by cruelty and fear. Can Torina's gift - to look into the future of others - help her win back what is rightly hers? This is an epic fantasy of extraordinary scope and vision. Its twists and turns will leave readers breathless.

The third volume of the adventures of the legendary Conan the Barbarian, one of the most iconic fantasy characters in history, on a rarified list next to Gandalf and Harry Potter. Contains "The People of the Black Circle," "The Slithering Shadow," "The Pool of the Black One," and "Red Nails." Penguin Random House Canada is proud to bring you classic works of literature in e-book form, with the highest quality production values. Find more today and rediscover books you never knew you loved.