The World reels from tragic events, yet Christian Delacroix and his band of willing Creatures cannot grieve. The Phoenixes of the Nest have bided their time upon the World and finally move to see if the Vampires can be saved—by mixing the blood of Phoenixes with the bloodthirsty Creatures. Victor Vonderheide has awakened to a remarkable difference. His heart beats and he shoots magical fyre from his fingertips. When not dodging the black fyre of a Phoenix that doesn’t agree with his new existence, he fights his urges for blood. Yet it is he the Head Phoenix wishes to lead the new breed. But Victor, forced to face his new state in a fast-changing World, is still grieving the loss of his creator. He blames the Vampire now rumored to have taken Xavier’s place as King. Alexandria Stone has warmed to her power. She is adept at sending the red light toward her enemies, controlling their blood at her leisure. Yet with news that the Phoenixes search for them, there is the fear that she won’t be able to keep at bay the winged beings’ powerful magic. But there is someone from her past who may be able to help—and they have a familiar magical book to assist her. Time is running out—the Phoenixes close in, their fyre burning everything it touches. To make matters worse, a familiar face with terrifying new power appears, threatening to end the Vampires’ existence as they know it. It’s a race to learn the truth of her power and defend the Dark World—and all Creatures within it—before the Phoenixes destroy everything Dracula has built.

With tensions rising and their powers no longer a secret, the Nightbirds must decide for whom and for what they are willing to fight for and how far they will go in the spellbinding sequel to the international bestseller Nightbirds. The Nightbirds were once their city’s best-kept secret, but now the secret’s out. What’s more, they can do feats of magic no one has seen in centuries. They’re like the Fyrebirds of old: the powerful women who once moved mountains, parted seas, and led armies. Some say that when four join together, they become a force that shakes the earth and sends magic rippling through it. It does seem as if something has awoken in Eudea, but the four girls responsible don’t want the world to know the full extent of what they can do—at least not yet. As the new leader of Eudea works to lift the prohibition on magic, the churchmen who do not support it—and the gang lords who profit from it—whisper rebellion. The secret resistance who once sheltered the Nightbirds is rallying, too. Smelling blood in the water, an ambitious Farlands king threatens to take Eudea. As war looms, and the empire’s fate hangs from a knife’s edge, the Nightbirds have to decide if becoming more than that are—Fyrebirds—to protect Simta is worth losing themselves entirely and the lives and loves they might have had.

The Dark World is, somehow, darker. Eleanor Black’s new energy canvasses the World, threatening all who move beneath the dread-filled sky, and Xavier Delacroix has made his choice at last. Eleanor Black has her King. Yet, the Dark World is without a King sanctioned by Dracula, one to rule the Dark World in his stead, and it is suffering for his absence... Christian Delacroix is hidden away in the Vampire City with Alexandria Stone, the woman whose blood continues to surround him, yet he cannot deny the connection that lingers between them. And as he trains with renowned Vampire Westley Rivers to better defend himself against deadly threats, the truth of his involvement under Dracula’s plans is revealed and he must stand where his brother could not to become the King the Dark World has needed since Dracula’s death. But he is not so sure he can easily shake the smell of Alexandria Stone’s cold blood long enough to do what must be done.

"Once in a lifetime." The phrase comes up over and over from the people who worked on Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings. The film's seventeen Oscars, record-setting earnings, huge fan base, and hundreds of ancillary products attest to its importance and to the fact that Rings is far more than a film. Its makers seized a crucial moment in Hollywood—the special effects digital revolution plus the rise of "infotainment" and the Internet—to satisfy the trilogy's fans while fostering a huge new international audience. The resulting franchise of franchises has earned billions of dollars to date with no end in sight. Kristin Thompson interviewed seventy-six people to examine the movie's scripting and design and the new technologies deployed to produce the films, video games, and DVDs. She demonstrates the impact Rings had on the companies that made it, on the fantasy genre, on New Zealand, and on independent cinema. In fast-paced, compulsively readable prose, she affirms Jackson's Rings as one the most important films ever made.

In the third book of The Watcher's Quest Trilogy, Emma discovers inner strength she didn't realize she had.

The Dark World is falling. Two important Dark Creatures have gone missing, leaving strange letters behind. Faced with the impending threat of a new breed of creature, Xavier Delacroix he is forced to enter the fight. With a band of powerful creatures at his back, he braves the Dark World, hunting down the one creature he wishes nothing more than to evade. For the Great Vampire’s sword must be taken back. But the Dark World has changed drastically since he’d last been beneath the darkened sky. Creatures wait behind every strange wind for him, and they always seem to know where he will end up next. And the one who holds the sword is not ready to relinquish its power—a power that if used wrongly will change the face of the Dark World forever.