Two powerful brothers, separated at birth, find each other after being tortured and turned into vampire killing machines by sinister forces for use as weapons of Dark Ages warfare. They were fierce when starved and then unleashed into battle and slaughtered an astonishing many. But while being immortal, they were not immune to manipulation, lies, betrayal, or their own growing desires for truth and morality in a brutal world. Upon further transformation into creatures even more powerful than all the vampire elders, they struggle in their quest to maintain peaceful lives across history, from Medieval times to Nazi Berlin and present day USA, searching for answers to existence. Neither one wanted to be monsters, but was there a way to use their powers for good?

Time matters to all of us. It dominates everyday discourse: diaries, schedules, clocks, working hours, opening times, appointments, weekdays and weekends, national holidays, religious festivals, birthdays, and anniversaries. But how do we, as unique individuals, subjectively experience time? The slowness of an hour in a boring talk, the swiftness of a summer holiday, the fleetingness of childhood, the endless wait for pivotal news: these are experiences to which we all can relate and of which we commonly speak. How can a writer not only report such experiences but also conjure them up in words so that readers share the frustration, the excitement, the anticipation, are on tenterhooks with a narrator or character, or in melancholic mourning for a time long-since passed, which we never experienced ourselves? Erica Wickerson suggests that the evocation of subjective temporal experience occurs in every sentence, on every page, at every plot turn, in any narrative. The Architecture of Narrative Time offers a new template for understanding narrative time that combines close readings with analysis of the structural overview. It enables new ways of reading Thomas Mann; but also new ways of conceptualising narrative time in any literary work, not only in Mann's fiction and not only in texts that foreground the narration of time. The range of Mann's novels, novellas, and short stories is compared with other nineteenth- and twentieth-century works in German and in English to suggest a comprehensive approach to considering time in narrative.

A box set of MYTHIC proportions ... Want a little magic in your life? Ever wished faeries were real or for your own personal djinn? Then these ELEVEN worlds of action, adventure, humor, and romance are for you. Join the freshest voices in urban fantasy and paranormal romance as they introduce you to Norse and Greek gods, demons, djinn, angels, werewolves, and more. This magical collection is FREE for a limited time. Download it before it’s gone! About the books: I Bring the Fire - C. Gockel When Amy prays for help, Loki the Norse God of Mischief and Chaos isn't the savior she has in mind. Chosen - Christine Pope When a fatal fever nearly wipes out the entire world's population, the survivors of what became known as "the Dying" believe the worst is in the past ... The Hunted One - Meg Collett Disgraced and wingless, Archangel Michaela discovers the holy angels have a plan for Heaven, and it is one that may prove to be the End of Days. Things Unseen - C.J. Brightley A moment's compassion draws history student Aria Forsyth into a conflict between human and inhuman, natural and supernatural, and the world of the Fae. Way of the Wolf - Mark E. Cooper Doctor David Lephmann tries to aid a shifter in trouble, and is thrust into a world of violence and mistrust. Eros - Helen Harper The Greek god of Love and the human who caught his heart--Eros is a contemporary re-telling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche. The Wild Hunt - Ron Nieto Lily was meant to become a faerie doctor, disbelief and pragmatism led her away from the hidden world. She will be forced to face the truth, and the fae, if she wants to save her family. Valkyrie's Vengeance - Melissa Snark When children are abducted, Victoria, priestess of the Valkyrie, must work with her worst enemy to rescue them. The Blue Rose - Lola St. Vil The most powerful Angel that ever lived. The dangerous demon who holds her heart. Elsker - S.T. Bende Kristia Tostenson just found out her new boyfriend is the Norse God of Winter--an immortal assassin destined to die at Ragnarok. Blood Debt - Nancy Straight Camille discovers a family she never dreamed of and a world that should not exist. Keywords: free urban fantasy, free paranormal, free paranormal romance, free norse mythology, free fairy tales, free fae, free greek myths, free angels, free Valkyrie, free shifters, angels, urban fantasy, paranormal, norse mythology, fairy tales, fae, greek myths, angels, christian fantasy, free valkyrie, werewolves, vampires, djinn, gods, goddesses, ragnarok, loki, free valkyrie, valkyries, wild hunt, fae, greek gods, eros

On the basis of first-hand materials gathered through decades of field research and fleshed out with the author’s insightful religious, cultural, and historical observations extending back to the Qing dynasty, ancient archaeological discoveries, and the legacy of Siberian peoples, this two-volume ethnological study investigates shamanic rituals, myths, and lore in northern China and explores the common ideology underlying the origins of the region’s cultures. This second volume focuses on northern shamanic divination, spirit idols, and folklore covering the myths of the Manchu-Tungus, Manchu creation shrine tales, and individual tribal myths. This mythic heritage helps identify shared patterns of thought among the ethnic peoples of northern China; points to cultural integration with Buddhist, Daoist, and Han Chinese cultures; and shows their understand of the natural world, the creation of humankind, social life, and history and their interactions with their surroundings. In this regard, shamanic spirituality in northern China is characterized by functionality and practicality in daily life situations, in contrast to the received wisdom that defines shamanic praxis as a pure supernatural spirit journey. The book will be of great value to scholars of religion and to both anthropologists and ethnologists in the fields of shamanism studies, Northeast Asian folklore, and Manchu studies.

Based on first-hand materials gathered through decades of field research and fleshed out with the author's insightful religious, cultural, and historical observations extending back to Qing Dynasty times, ancient archaeological discoveries and the legacy of Siberian peoples, this two-volume ethnological study investigates shamanic rituals, myths and lore in northern China and explores the common ideology underlying the origins of the region's cultures. The two volumes discuss the spiritual world of northern Shamanism and investigates the various shamanic rituals, divination, spirit idols and myths, illuminating how worship and ideas are imbedded in and interweave with the indigenous environment, culture and history of people in northern China. This mythic heritage embodies the peoples' understanding of the natural world, the creation of humankind, social life and history as well as their interaction with their surroundings. It is shown that shamanic spirituality in northern China is characterised by functionality and practicality in daily-life situations, in contrast to the received wisdom that defines shamanic praxis as a pure supernatural spirit journey. The set will be of great value for scholars of religion and anthropologists as well as ethnologists in the fields of Shamanism studies, Northeast Asian folklore and Manchu studies.

Although The Tin Drum has often been called one of the great novels of the 20th century, most critics have been baffled in attempting to draw its apparent chaos into a single literary framework. Here is the full-length study to penetrate the brilliance of Gunter Grass's style and uncover the novel's mythopoetic core. In A Mythic Journey: Gunter Grass's Tin Drum, author Edward Diller convincingly demonstrates the still valid relationship between modern and classical literary criticism. By reading The Tin Drum as both modern myth and historical epic, he provides a profound and sensitive interpretation of one of the masterpieces of 20th century literature.

If nationalism is the assertion of legitimacy for a nation and its effectiveness as a political entity, why do many nations emphasize images of their own defeat in understanding their history? Using Israel, Serbia, France, Greece and Ghana as examples, the author argues that this phenomenon exposes the ambivalence that lurks behind the passions nationalism evokes. Symbols of defeat glorify a nation's ancient past, while reenacting the destruction of that past as a necessary step in constructing a functioning modern society. As a result, these symbols often assume a foundational role in national mythology. Threats to such symbols are perceived as threats to the nation itself and consequently are met with desperation difficult for outsiders to understand.