It is a curse to be haunted by the past. It is worse to be hunted by it... In the realm of Imphallion, there once was a nightmare—a living nightmare known only as the Terror of the East. Nigh invulnerable in his magical black armor and aided by unholy minions, he laid waste to all in his path on his all-consuming quest to bring order to the land. His order. Then, at what should have been his moment of triumph, his will failed. And his army fell. Taking a young noblewoman as hostage, he escaped, vanishing into darkest memory. Years later, Corvis Rebaine is a simple man, content with his loving wife and children. The terrible deeds and glories of his past life are dead and buried along with his former name and its monstrous legacy—until his daughter is taken by fiends under a maniacal young warlord looking to complete the Terror’s conquest. Now, spurred to action by a newborn fury and thirst for vengeance, Rebaine must do the unthinkable—don the dark armor once again, gather his once-loyal cadre of killers, and fight to save both the family he loves and the country he once almost destroyed. And all who stand in his way will have one final thought before death... The Terror has returned. “Action-packed...an intriguingly twisty plot, full of magic and political intrigue.”—Booklist “Superior storytelling and deft dialog make this a top-notch choice . . . filled with dark humor as well as scenes of brutal battle and high magic.”—Library Journal “A powerful fantasy, with well drawn heroes and delightfully wicked, yet complicated, villains. Ari Marmell has made his mark in the genre.”—Paul S. Kemp, author of the Erevis Cale trilogy “A tale that begins where most stories end and features a most unlikely protagonist. Twists of humor leaven this story of desperate people in dangerous times, as a conqueror discovers that perhaps those who live by the sword are sometimes doomed to face the business end of one. A great mix of character and action.”—Robin Hobb, author of Dragon Keeper The text of this edition is unchanged from that of the Del Rey edition.

Midwinter has been replaced by a Cold War in the world of Faerie, and this new kind of war requires a new kind of warrior. Queen Titania reconstitutes a secret division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, dubbed the "Office of Shadow," imbuing it with powers and discretion once considered unthinkable. From the Trade Paperback edition.

Super villains-in-training Kid Nefarious, Mummy Girl, Martian Jones, Ghost Girl, and the Skull brothers delve into the pasts of their parents and Gladstone's School for World Conquerors.

The end has come, not only for the outcasts but for all of Dulunae. The planet is shaken by dormant volcanoes, and the ultimate agents of destruction arise from the inferno. The Outcasts continue to forge their way to a safe HayVen that may or may not exist. Grim and dubious alliances form, and their trusted scout, Jax, goes missing. The fourth and final book of this series will reveal who controls the destiny of Dulunae! "The eyes drew closer. Silent and deadly, like a knife. Closer. Eyes, staring, burning. Like the hundreds of Antibody eyes Lynai'seth had seen as they destroyed her community. Eyes without pity or remorse. Never again!"

An original study of empire creation and its consequences, from ancient through early modern times The world’s first great empires established by the ancient Persians, Chinese, and Romans are well known, but not the empires that emerged on their margins in response to them over the course of 2,500 years. These counterempires or shadow empires, which changed the course of history, include the imperial nomad confederacies that arose in Mongolia and extorted resources from China rather than attempting to conquer it, as well as maritime empires such as ancient Athens that controlled trade without seeking territorial hegemony. In Shadow Empires, Thomas Barfield identifies seven kinds of counterempire and explores their rise, politics, economics, and longevity. What all these counterempires had in common was their interactions with existing empires that created the conditions for their development. When highly successful, these counterempires left the shadows to become the world’s largest empires—for example, those of the medieval Muslim Arabs and of the Mongol heirs of Chinggis Khan. Three former shadow empires—Manchu Qing China, Tsarist Russia, and British India—made this transformation in the late eighteenth century and came to rule most of Eurasia. However, the DNA of their origins endured in their unique ruling strategies. Indeed, world powers still use these strategies today, long after their roots in shadow empires have been forgotten. Looking afresh at the histories of important types of empires that are often ignored, Shadow Empires provides an original account of empire formation from the ancient world to the early modern period.

Long ago, before the days of myth and legend, our worlds belonged to them. Now they want them back… Captain Kirk is stunned when the Federation receives an urgent plea for help—from the Klingon Empire. A mysterious starship has invaded Klingon space and resisted all their efforts to destroy it. Establishing contact with the stranger’s ship, Kirk discovers that it is only the vanguard of a vast alien fleet obsessed with conquering the Klingons, the Federation, the Romulans, and all who dwell in the space that was once their own. The Invasion has begun…