In the second book of Nancy Springer’s remarkable Sea King fantasy trilogy, a king’s quest for the survival of his world leads him and his bond brother to a terrifying realm of the dead beneath the water Once, great kings reigned in mighty, teeming cities. Now six small tribes inhabit the known world—and their world is nearing its end. When Rad Korridun, king of the Seal Kindred Tribe, first encountered Dannoc, the troubled chieftain saw clearly that the man was mad, while Dan thought Kor was the god he had long been seeking. However, the unique connection they shared could not be ignored, and a powerful brotherhood was born. The arrival of Tassida, the beautiful mystery, strengthened that bond and threatened it as well. Now that the beasts of their world have fallen prey to the terrible hunger of the Devourers, the survival of the tribes depends on these three whom Destiny is leading to the undersea land of the dead. There, Dannoc seeks to reunite with his lost father. For Tassida, it is a homecoming. But Kor faces a reunion of a much darker sort, for here lies the source of all the world’s ills.

Lissa looked up in surprise at Roff's words. His wings rustled after he spoke—he normally didn't involve himself in the politics of Le-Ath Veronis. Not to this extent, anyway. "I know, honey. And now two other children are likely to die as a result. Yes, I know they did this, but I'm not convinced we have all the ones involved in the crime." Toff's life is in danger - someone from the Green Fae village wants him dead. In fact, the entire Fae community has begun to grumble as Kifirin's judgment looms. With only a few exceptions, the Fae focus their anger (and the blame) on Toff, who fails to understand why everyone now seems to be against him.

The complete epic fantasy saga of a king and a madman who must save a dying world—from an award-winning author who “writes like a dream” (St. Louis Post-Dispatch). Marion Zimmer Bradley calls her “the finest fantasy writer of this or any decade.” Anne McCaffrey says Nancy Springer is “someone special in the fantasy field.” Andre Norton agrees that “Ms. Springer’s work is outstanding.” Now the multiple award-winning author’s captivating vision of a world in peril—and the sea king and mad prince who can save it—is presented in its entirety in a single volume. Madbond: In a dying world, six dwindling tribes huddle between the plains and the sea. Rad Korridun, king of the Seal Kindred, seeks the answers that will save his people. To find them he must join with the chieftain Dannoc, accused of murder and driven mad by horrors he cannot remember. Bonded together by powerful magic, Kor and Dan are aided by Tassida—a beautiful and mysterious warrior. But what awaits them is a darkness that dwarfs all nightmares . . . Mindbond: As the beasts of their world continue to disappear, the tribes’ survival depends on the quest of Kor, Dannoc, and Tassida, who must descend to the terrifying undersea realm of the dead. Dannoc seeks to reunite with his lost father and remember his past. For Tassida, it is a homecoming. But Kor faces a much darker reunion, for here lies the source of all the world’s ills. Godbond: They were three, united to hold together a world that was coming apart. But now Kor, Tassida, and Dannoc have been separated. Resuming his lifelong quest to find his god, Dannoc must confront his gravest fears. For only then will he be able to recover his true name, his past, and his sanity—and perhaps save their world. “A cast of well-drawn characters, a solidly realized imaginary world, and graceful writing.” —Booklist

Elspeth Gordie, the heroic leader of a group of children outcast from society because of their psychic powers, tries to seal an alliance between the secret Misfit community at Obernewtyn and the rebel forces rumored to be hiding in the capital.

Beowulf is the conventional title of an Old English heroic epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines, set in Scandinavia, commonly cited as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature. It survives in a single manuscript known as the Nowell Codex. Its composition by an anonymous Anglo-Saxon poet is dated between the 8th and the early 11th century. In 1731, the manuscript was badly damaged by a fire that swept through a building housing a collection of Medieval manuscripts assembled by Sir Robert Bruce Cotton. The poem's existence for its first seven centuries or so made no impression on writers and scholars, and besides a brief mention in a 1705 catalogue by Humfrey Wanley it was not studied until the end of the eighteenth century, and not published in its entirety until the 1815 edition prepared by the Icelandic-Danish scholar Grímur Jónsson Thorkelin. In the poem, Beowulf, a hero of the Geats in Scandinavia, comes to the help of Hroðgar, the king of the Danes, whose mead hall (in Heorot) has been under attack by a monster known as Grendel. After Beowulf slays him, Grendel's mother attacks the hall and is then also defeated. Victorious, Beowulf goes home to Geatland in Sweden and later becomes king of the Geats. After a period of fifty years has passed, Beowulf defeats a dragon, but is fatally wounded in the battle. After his death, his attendants bury him in a tumulus, a burial mound, in Geatland. The numerous different translations and interpretations of Beowulf turn this monumental work into a challenge for the reader.