From the co-author of the viral New York Times bestseller This is How You Lose the Time War. "[A] taut and unique blend of legal drama, fantasy, and noir." —Publishers Weekly, starred review Max Gladstone's Craft Sequence chronicles the epic struggle to build a just society in a modern fantasy world. Shadow demons plague the city reservoir, and Red King Consolidated has sent in Caleb Altemoc—casual gambler and professional risk manager—to cleanse the water for the sixteen million people of Dresediel Lex. At the scene of the crime, Caleb finds an alluring and clever cliff runner, Crazy Mal, who easily outpaces him. But Caleb has more than the demon infestation, Mal, or job security to worry about when he discovers that his father—the last priest of the old gods and leader of the True Quechal terrorists—has broken into his home and is wanted in connection to the attacks on the water supply. From the beginning, Caleb and Mal are bound by lust, Craft, and chance, as both play a dangerous game where gods and people are pawns. They sleep on water, they dance in fire...and all the while the Twin Serpents slumbering beneath the earth are stirring, and they are hungry. Set in a phenomenally built world in which lawyers ride lightning bolts, souls are currency, and cities are powered by the remains of fallen gods, Max Gladstone's Craft Sequence introduces readers to a modern fantasy landscape and an epic struggle to build a just society. Also Available by Max Gladstone: The Craft Sequence 1. Three Parts Dead 2. Two Serpents Rise 3. Full Fathom Five 4. Last First Snow 5. Four Roads Cross 6. Ruin of Angels The Craft Wars 1. Dead Country 2. Wicked Problems Last Exit Empress of Forever This is How You Lose the Time War (with Amal El-Mohtar) At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

A rash of demonic infestations threatens the city of Dresediel Lex, and a young man with a haunted past and an addiction to risk searches for the reason why.

The Serpent Column, a bronze sculpture that has stood in Delphi and Constantinople, today Istanbul, is a Greek representation of the Near Eastern primordial combat myth: it is Typhon, a dragon defeated by Zeus, and also Python slain by Apollo. The column was created after the Battle of Plataia (479 BC), where the sky was dominated by serpentine constellations and by the spiralling tails of the Milky Way. It was erected as a votive for Apollo and as a monument to the victory of the united Greek poleis over the Persians. It is as a victory monument that the column was transplanted to Constantinople and erected in the hippodrome. The column remained a monument to cosmic victory through centuries, but also took on other meanings. Through the Byzantine centuries these interpretation were fundamentally Christian, drawing upon serpentine imagery in Scripture, patristic and homiletic writings. When Byzantines saw the monument they reflected upon this multivalent serpentine symbolism, but also the fact that it was a bronze column. For these observers, it evoked the Temple's brazen pillars, Moses' brazen serpent, the serpentine tempter of Genesis (Satan), and the beast of Revelation. The column was inserted into Christian sacred history, symbolizing creation and the end times. The most enduring interpretation of the column, which is unrelated to religion, and therefore survived the Ottoman capture of the city, is as a talisman against snakes and snake-bites. It is this tale that was told by travellers to Constantinople throughout the Middle Ages, and it is this story that is told to tourists today who visit Istanbul. In this book, Paul Stephenson twists together multiple strands to relate the cultural biography of a unique monument.

The serpent of ancient times was more often associated with positive attributes like healing and eternal life than it was with negative meanings. This groundbreaking book explores in plentiful detail the symbol of the serpent from 40,000 BCE to the present, and from diverse regions in the world. In doing so it emphasizes the creativity of the biblical authors' use of symbols and argues that we must today reexamine our own archetypal conceptions with comparable creativity.--From publisher description.

Second Edition completely revised and edited version now available! Luciferian Witchcraft is a complete grimoire of Left Hand Path initiation. Many books have been written of the so-called left hand path, very few actually were written by initiates. Beginning with a lengthy exploration of the forms of the Adversary throughout history, a foundation of ideology is given by identification with the Adversary. The reader is then led through dark and twisting corridors with Four Chapters, a complete system of the History of the Adversary and the Witchcraft associated with the Left Hand Path. What is found within Luciferian Witchcraft is a Talismanic text which presents the medieval concepts of the Black Book being a conjuration itself of the Devil, a complete initiatory system detailing High Ceremonial Magick, The lore of the Adversary and ritualistic and forbidden sex magick. Approach with caution, you may open the gates of hell within'¦

The Serpent King eloquently interweaves history and legend with fictional biography. It paints an intriguing picture of life in an ancient land with its own set of rules, customs and beliefs - now sadly lost. This is a sensitive work that accomplishes what good writing should; it affirms one's faith in the human spirit. -Robin Bradford, producer/writer/director, Bright Line Films In the tenth century, Prince Quetzalcoatl leads the Toltec nation in an unprecedented period of artistic and spiritual excellence. Opposed by his half-brother Tezcatlipoca, the prince is overthrown. He regroups the Toltec nation at the pyramids of Teotihuacan, with the help of his female companion and his spiritual guide. The prince is also joined by a force of 100,000 Mexican warriors led by his maternal grandfather, Cloud Serpent. Together they march to Tula, the Toltec capital, to confront the usurpers. Before the prince can seek his ultimate vision quest and view his people's future, the final showdown must take place for control of the Toltec nation. How this battle ends is totally unexpected, but has become legendary to the Mexican people. Author John Osmond is a stone sculptor who has spent 30 years working with the stone carvers of Mexico. He was motivated to write The Serpent King by his love for and involvement with the myth and legend of these people. Originally from New South Wales, Australia, Osmond now lives near Mexico City. His next book is set in modern times and considers the mythology of Quetzalcoatl. Publisher's website: http: //www.eloquentbooks.com/TheSerpentKing.htm

This volume is about puppetry, an expression of popular and folk culture which is extremely widespread around the world and yet has attracted relatively little scholarly attention. Puppetry, which is intended for audiences of adults as well as children, is a form of communication and entertainment and an esthetic and artistic creation. Of the many aspects of puppetry worthy of scholarly study, this book's focus is on a central and dominant feature--humor and comedy.