The Knights of Emerald: This epic tale takes place in a forgotten world in a time of great unrest as Amecareth, the Dark Lord of the Insect People, attempts to take over the known universe. It is the story of Kira, the purple child, born of the rape of Queen Fan of Shola by the despicable Emperor, who will ultimately bring about his downfall, and of the brave Knights of Emerald entrusted with her safety. Book 2 of the saga The Knights of Emerald, The Dragons of the Dark Emperor: Now nine years of age, the only thing Kira wants is to become a Squire and learn to fight under the tutelage of a full-fledged Knight so she can avenge the death of her parents to the hands of the Dark Emperor. But in order to protect her from the Lord of the Insect People, Wellan and the wizard Elund turn her down. Deeply hurt, Kira decides to take her fate into her own hands. She conjures up the spirit of a Knight of Emerald who died hundreds of years before and begs him to teach her how to use her weapons. Unable to force his way into the continent by the coast, Amecareth finds a new way to introduce his dragons into the human territories and the Knights of Emerald with their new squires are forced to hunt down the monsters. At the same time, the Dark Lord sends his sorcerer to attack the soldiers and bring his daughter back to him. Wellan quickly realizes that he must increase his own magic if he wishes to vanquish the sorcerer. He travels to the Kingdom of the Shadows hoping to become the apprentice of the illusive master magicians. There he will discover a darker secret ...

From USA Today bestselling author, Karpov Kinrade, comes a new fantasy for those who love epic and bold tales. Experience a story of sorrow, love, friendship, and wonder. "Absolutely amazing!" – Kayla Erickson ★★★★★ "Phenomenal… run out and grab a copy" - Mindy S ★★★★★ "you won’t even know it’s 3 A.M. when you put the book down" – Danielle ★★★★★ "the worlds Karpov Kinrade weave are spellbinding" – Jennifer Summitt ★★★★★ #1 Bestseller in Visionary Fantasy A woman becomes a warrior. A warrior becomes a mage. A mage becomes a legend. Dark. Thrilling. Epic. The land will burn. The mountains will bleed. An old magic awakens. They say when a Sundering begins the world ends. That dragons will descend from the sky and turn the earth to ash. That rivers will boil and mountains will bleed. That it cannot be stopped. But I will find a way. I have seen the one they call Pike, the man who takes the children of others, who leaves them nothing but bones. I have seen him take my daughter and cut open my flesh and tear me apart. He is the key to stopping the dragons. And one day, I will see him again.

A fascinating new novella in Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere, the universe shared by his Mistborn series and the #1 New York Times bestselling Stormlight Archive. Sixth of the Dusk, set in a never-before-seen world, showcases a society on the brink of technological change. On the deadly island of Patji, where birds grant people magical talents and predators can sense the thoughts of their prey, a solitary trapper discovers that the island is not the only thing out to kill him. When he begins to see his own corpse at every turn, does this spell danger for his entire culture? -------------------- A note from the publisher: For a detailed behind-the-scenes look at the creation of this novella, including brainstorming and workshopping session transcripts, the first draft, line-by-line edits, and an essay by Brandon, please see Shadows Beneath: The Writing Excuses Anthology.

From #1 New York Times Bestselling, Hugo Award-winning author, Brandon Sanderson, comes DARK ONE - an action-packed fantasy adventure exploring good and evil. Paul Tanasin is haunted by visions of a dark, fantastic world. A world called Mirandus. A world he must shatter. SOME WORLDS ARE MADE TO BE BROKEN. From #1 New York Times bestselling, Hugo Award-winning author, Brandon Sanderson (The COSMERE Univserse, The MISTBORN TRILOGY, The STORMLIGHT ARCHIVE series, co-author of The Wheel of Time Vol. 12-14 with Robert Jordan, consulting producer on The Wheel of Time series from Amazon Studios ), along with Nathan C. Gooden, Jackson Lanzing, and Collin Kelly, comes DARK ONE, the first book in a series of original graphic novels from Vault Comics. NOW IN TRADE PAPERBACK! Paul Tanasin is a young man haunted by visions of a dark and fantastic world—visions he initially believes are hallucinations. But when he discovers they are prophecies from Mirandus, a world in which he's destined to become a fearsome destroyer, he'll have to embrace the fear, rise up as the Dark One, and shatter everything. DARK ONE examines the dual roles we often take on in life-the ability to be a savior as well as a destroyer. "A dramatically dark fantasy that will leave readers eager for the sequel." - KIRKUS Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Best Graphic Novels and Comics (2021) #1 Fantasy title in Kindle eBooks! “(Dark One) is a thought-provoking interpretation of epic fantasy from a villainous point of view.” – Screen Rant “Dark One is a great read for fantasy lovers…” – Wandering Nerd Girl “The art is beautiful, dark, and violent.” – Screen Rant “[DARK ONE is] a brilliant graphic novel that has some amazing themes delving into the duality of man and light and dark. The creative team tells Paul’s story beautifully, making sure that this novel will leave an impact.“ - But Why Tho? “Brandon Sanderson’s DARK ONE is the realization of a supremely ambitious Vault Comics ideal. It’s a literary comic that blends high concept storytelling interests across genres without sacrificing any of the craft, structure, or character development needed to make narratives compelling and immersive.“ -- Comics Bookcase

Bridging the fields of conservation, art history, and museum curating, this volume contains the principal papers from an international symposium titled "Historical Painting Techniques, Materials, and Studio Practice" at the University of Leiden in Amsterdam, Netherlands, from June 26 to 29, 1995. The symposium—designed for art historians, conservators, conservation scientists, and museum curators worldwide—was organized by the Department of Art History at the University of Leiden and the Art History Department of the Central Research Laboratory for Objects of Art and Science in Amsterdam. Twenty-five contributors representing museums and conservation institutions throughout the world provide recent research on historical painting techniques, including wall painting and polychrome sculpture. Topics cover the latest art historical research and scientific analyses of original techniques and materials, as well as historical sources, such as medieval treatises and descriptions of painting techniques in historical literature. Chapters include the painting methods of Rembrandt and Vermeer, Dutch 17th-century landscape painting, wall paintings in English churches, Chinese paintings on paper and canvas, and Tibetan thangkas. Color plates and black-and-white photographs illustrate works from the Middle Ages to the 20th century.

As Brandon Sanderson’s #1 bestselling Skyward series celebrates its third volume, Cytonic, travel back in time to the origin of Cytonics in the novella Defending Elysium. Centuries before Spensa looked skyward from the planet Detritus—back on Old Earth before it was lost—Jason Write faced a crucial question: was humanity ready to join galactic society? When faster-than-light communications were discovered by a small telephone company in 2071, alien species such as the Tenasi and Varvax overheard them and came to visit Earth. Because the Phone Company controls all communications with the aliens, their operatives like Jason operate above the law. Now, on the space platform Evensong, one of the Phone Company’s scientists has gone missing before surfacing in a hospital with amnesia, and Jason is sent to investigate. Right as he arrives, the body of a murdered Varvax ambassador is discovered, sure to cause a galactic incident. Coln Abrams of the United Intelligence Bureau seizes the opportunity to investigate Jason as he deals with the crisis. This could be the UIB’s chance to discover the Phone Company’s secrets—how does FTL communication work, and what is Jason hiding? Winner of Spain’s UPC Award for Science Fiction in 2007.