Kundala is Miina's world, created by that Goddess with the help of the dragons. But Miina is missing, and her people have been enslaved by the alien V'ornn. Now a savior has come, the Dar Sala-at, a messiah promised by prophecy yet unlike anyone's expectations: within the body of a beautiful young woman is the mind and spirit of a unique Kundalan female who is joined in mystical partnership with the mind and spirit of Annon Ashera, a V'ornn male, the last survivor of a noble family. Together the two adolescents have matured and merged into a new joint identity. Now their common destiny, and Kundala's, is in their own hands. In Lustbader's richly imagined saga The Pearl, magic and science clash on an epic scale. As in the Midkemia novels of Raymond Feist, the juxtaposition shows that neither is inherently good or evil. It is the people using magic or science who give them meaning, and Lustbader has created people you will never forget: Riane, the Dar-Sala-at; Eleana, the woman she loves twice over; Kurgan, the V'ornn usurper who raped Eleana and sired her child; Marethyn Stogggul, Kurgan's defiant sister, an artist who joins the Kundalan resistance; Marethyn's lover, chief trader Sornnn SaTrryn, who secretly helps the resistance as well; and the fabulous Krystren, the Sarakkon woman from the mysterious southern continent, who comes north on a secret mission and will change the lives of everyone she meets. All the while, the evil Sauromicians threaten the world as they seek to use banestones to bind a dragon. With each new volume, The Pearl has bloomed and ramified like a gorgeous flowering vine. The Mistress of the Pearl is the best yet, and those who have read the previous books will find new sources of excitement and enlightenment, but this is also a great place to begin catching up with the series, as the Pearl shines ever brighter. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

A towering epic of fantasy, The Pearl, is launched in The Ring of Five Dragons. Filled with action, color, and the myriad details of another world, The Pearl is the first great fantasy series of the new millennium, set to rival Robert Jordan, David Eddings, George R. R. Martin, Terry Brooks, and Terry Goodkind in popular appeal. This astonishing first volume opens as the Kundalan people have suffered for a century under the viciously oppressive, technologically-superior V'ornn invaders. In the resulting crisis of faith -- why hasn't their goddess Miina saved them? -- Kundalan religion has fallen under the control of evil forces from within who forbid the teaching of traditional sorcery, pretending to have no magic of their own. The V'ornn's mysterious leaders, the Gyrgon, know better, and search for the lost Ring of Five Dragons, the key to the door of the fabled Kundalan Storehouse, and perhaps to Kundalan sorcery as well. But misused, the Ring is the trigger of seemingly inexorable annihilation for V'ornn and Kundalan alike. Now from among the oppressed must arise the hero of prophecy, the Dar Sala-at, who alone can wield the sorcerous power to save the world. Thus begins a huge epic rooted in the conflict between spiritual and technological cultures. The twisting plot raises difficult and provocative moral questions in the course of a constantly surprising, sometimes shocking, fantastic adventure that will transport fantasy readers to new heights of enthusiasm, and make them ask for more. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

A gripping novel about history’s most infamous family—The Borgias—and an innocent girl pulled into their treacherous rise to power, from the USA Today bestselling author of The Alice Network and The Briar Club. Rome, 1492. The Holy City is drenched with blood and teeming with secrets. A pope lies dying and the throne of God is left vacant, a prize awarded only to the most virtuous—or the most ruthless. The Borgia family begins its legendary rise, chronicled by an innocent girl who finds herself drawn into their dangerous web… Vivacious Giulia Farnese has floor-length golden hair and the world at her feet: beauty, wealth, and a handsome young husband. But she is stunned to discover that her glittering marriage is a sham, and she is to be given as a concubine to the ruthless, charismatic Cardinal Borgia: Spaniard, sensualist, candidate for Pope—who is passionately in love with her. Two trusted companions will follow her into the Pope's shadowy harem: Leonello, a cynical bodyguard bent on bloody revenge against a mysterious killer, and Carmelina, a fiery cook with a past full of secrets. But as corruption thickens in the Vatican and the enemies begin to circle, Giulia and her friends will need all their wits to survive in the world of the Borgias.

Having staked his claim as a master of epic fantasy with The Ring of Five Dragons, Eric Van Lustbader now returns to his world of Kundala to unearth new riches of wonder and excitement in this second volume of The Pearl saga. With the help of her friends, Riane, the prophesied redeemer known as the Dar Sala-at, saved Kundala from annihilation, preserving natives and V'ornn invaders alike. Together, the companions avenged terrible crimes and secured the Ring of Five Dragons, but their struggles have only just begun. The Ring averted doomsday, yet it did not open the magical Storehouse Door as expected. That sorcerous treasury remains sealed because of the spell cast by Giyan and her sister. A spell to migrate Annon Ashera's male V'ornn psyche into Riane's dying Kundalan female body. By combining them into a single being, it saved them both and fulfilled the prophecy that the Dar Sala-at would be "born at both ends of the cosmos." But the spell also breached the Abyss, releasing daemons who could wreak havoc on Kundala. The daemons were imprisoned there aeons ago by the Goddess Miina. Now the fiends must be vanquished, not only so the quest for the Pearl can continue, but to save Giyan, who has been possessed by the archdaemon Horolaggia. Their only hope is the fabled Veil of A Thousand Tears. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

A “vivid and extremely interesting” novel of an upper-class Chinese wife’s quest for freedom, from the Nobel Prize–winning author of The Good Earth (The New Yorker). At forty, Madame Wu is beautiful and much respected as the wife of one of China’s oldest upper-class houses. Her birthday wish is to find a young concubine for her husband and to move to separate quarters, starting a new chapter of her life. When her wish is granted, she finds herself at leisure, no longer consumed by running a sixty-person household. Now she’s free to read books previously forbidden her, to learn English, and to discover her own mind. The family in the compound are shocked at the results, especially when she begins learning from a progressive, excommunicated Catholic priest. In its depiction of life in the compound, Pavilion of Women includes some of Buck’s most enchanting writing about the seasons, daily rhythms, and customs of women in China. It is a delightful parable about the sexes, and of the profound and transformative effects of free thought. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Pearl S. Buck including rare images from the author’s estate.

BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Mary Balogh's The Secret Mistress. Mary Balogh has no equal when it comes to capturing the complex, irresistible passions between men and women. Her classic novel, The Secret Pearl, is one of the New York Times bestselling author’s finest–a tale of temptation and seduction, of guarded hearts and raw emotion…and of a love so powerful it will take your breath away…. He first spies her in the shadows outside a London theatre, a ravishing creature forced to barter her body to survive. To the woman known simply as Fleur, the well-dressed gentleman with the mesmerizing eyes is an unlikely savior. And when she takes the stranger to her bed, she never expects to see him again. But then Fleur accepts a position as governess to a young girl…and is stunned to discover that her midnight lover is a powerful nobleman. As two wary hearts ignite–and the threat of scandal hovers over them–one question remains: will she be mistress or wife?

The first in an unforgettable historical saga from the New York Times bestselling author of The Alice Network and The Diamond Eye. “So gripping, your hands are glued to the book, and so vivid it burns itself into your mind’s eye and stays with you long after you turn the final page.”—Diana Gabaldon, #1 New York Times bestselling author First-century Rome: One young woman will hold the fate of an empire in her hands. Thea, a captive from Judaea, is a clever and determined survivor hiding behind a slave’s docile mask. Purchased as a toy for the spoiled heiress Lepida Pollia, Thea evades her mistress’s spite and hones a secret passion for music. But when Thea wins the love of Rome’s newest and most savage gladiator and dares to dream of a better life, the jealous Lepida tears the lovers apart and casts Thea out. Rome offers many ways for the resourceful to survive, and Thea remakes herself as a singer for the Eternal ’City’s glittering aristocrats. As she struggles for success and independence, her nightingale voice attracts a dangerous new admirer: the Emperor himself. But the passions of an all-powerful man come with a heavy price, and Thea finds herself fighting for both her soul and her destiny. Many have tried to destroy the Emperor: a vengeful gladiator, an upright senator, a tormented soldier, a Vestal Virgin. But in the end, the life of Rome’s most powerful man lies in the hands of one woman: the Emperor’s mistress.