Surveying exotic travel writing in Europe from late antiquity to the age of discover, The Witness and the Other World illustrates the fundamental human desire to change places, if only in the imagination.Mary B. Campbell looks at works by pilgrims, crusaders, merchants, discoverers, even armchair fantasists such as Mandeville, as well as the writings of Marco Polo, Columbus, and Walter Raleigh. According to Campbell, these travel accounts are exotic because they bear witness to alienated experiences; European travelers, while claiming to relate fact, were often passing on monstrous projections. She contends that their writing not only documented but also made possible the conquest of the peoples whom she travelers described, and she shows how travel literature contributed to the genesis of the modern novel and the modern life sciences.

"At once intimate and literally operatic, it's everything I love about Katherine Addison's writing, in ways I didn't know to expect. I loved it." —John Scalzi Katherine Addison returns to the glittering world she created for her beloved novel, The Goblin Emperor, with book one of the Cemeteries of Amalo trilogy Locus Award Finalist and Mythopoeic Award Finalist! When the young half-goblin emperor Maia sought to learn who had set the bombs that killed his father and half-brothers, he turned to an obscure resident of his father’s Court, a Prelate of Ulis and a Witness for the Dead. Thara Celehar found the truth, though it did him no good to discover it. He lost his place as a retainer of his cousin the former Empress, and made far too many enemies among the many factions vying for power in the new Court. The favor of the Emperor is a dangerous coin. Now Celehar lives in the city of Amalo, far from the Court though not exactly in exile. He has not escaped from politics, but his position gives him the ability to serve the common people of the city, which is his preference. He lives modestly, but his decency and fundamental honesty will not permit him to live quietly. As a Witness for the Dead, he can, sometimes, speak to the recently dead: see the last thing they saw, know the last thought they had, experience the last thing they felt. It is his duty use that ability to resolve disputes, to ascertain the intent of the dead, to find the killers of the murdered. Celehar’s skills now lead him out of the quiet and into a morass of treachery, murder, and injustice. No matter his own background with the imperial house, Celehar will stand with the commoners, and possibly find a light in the darkness. Katherine Addison has created a fantastic world for these books – wide and deep and true. Within THE CHRONICLES OF OSRETH The Goblin Emperor The Cemeteries of Amalo trilogy The Witness for the Dead The Grief of Stones The Tomb of Dragons At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

"A fascinating glimpse into the consciousness of being an outsider in every possible way, and what it takes to find your path into the life you'd like to lead."--Nylon A riveting memoir of losing faith and finding freedom while a covert missionary in one of the world's most restrictive countries. A third-generation Jehovah's Witness, Amber Scorah had devoted her life to sounding God's warning of impending Armageddon. She volunteered to take the message to China, where the preaching she did was illegal and could result in her expulsion or worse. Here, she had some distance from her community for the first time. Immersion in a foreign language and culture--and a whole new way of thinking--turned her world upside down, and eventually led her to lose all that she had been sure was true. As a proselytizer in Shanghai, using fake names and secret codes to evade the authorities' notice, Scorah discreetly looked for targets in public parks and stores. To support herself, she found work at a Chinese language learning podcast, hiding her real purpose from her coworkers. Now with a creative outlet, getting to know worldly people for the first time, she began to understand that there were other ways of seeing the world and living a fulfilling life. When one of these relationships became an "escape hatch," Scorah's loss of faith culminated in her own personal apocalypse, the only kind of ending possible for a Jehovah's Witness. Shunned by family and friends as an apostate, Scorah was alone in Shanghai and thrown into a world she had only known from the periphery--with no education or support system. A coming of age story of a woman already in her thirties, this unforgettable memoir examines what it's like to start one's life over again with an entirely new identity. It follows Scorah to New York City, where a personal tragedy forces her to look for new ways to find meaning in the absence of religion. With compelling, spare prose, Leaving the Witness traces the bittersweet process of starting over, when everything one's life was built around is gone.

Christians have always looked to models within the Christian faith to guide their lives. At a time when the church is more identifiable by ugly partisan politics--what we call "crappy Christianity"--than by compassionate neighbor love, this book highlights the lives and work of seven individuals who are pursuing their Christian calling in humility and profound love for and service to others, this book highlights the lives and work of seven individuals who are pursuing their Christian calling in humility and profound love for and service to others. Their commitments have led to vocations in working with homeless women, employing refugees, lobbying on Capitol Hill for environmental protection, healing trauma in urban communities, peacemaking in Israel-Palestine, advocating for immigrants, and walking alongside people in addiction recovery. Their individual and collective witness offer compelling examples of authentic Christian life, which is marked in part by active, embodied faith in pursuit of the common good; a broad and inclusive love for all people; rightly ordered political identities and loyalties; and a commitment to work toward holistic redemption of both people and the systems that constitute our life together. In contrast to much of contemporary American Christianity, these models of faith demonstrate that Christians should focus much more on what we are for rather than what we are against.

New York Times bestselling author Steven Erikson continues the beloved Malazan Book of the Fallen with this first book in the thrilling Witness sequel trilogy, The God is Not Willing. Many years have passed since three warriors brought carnage and chaos to Silver Lake. Now the tribes of the north no longer venture into the southlands. The town has recovered and yet the legacy remains. Responding to reports of a growing unease among the tribes beyond the border, the Malazan army marches on the new god’s people. They aren't quite sure what they're going to be facing. And in those high mountains, a new warleader has risen amongst the Teblor. Scarred by the deeds of Karsa Orlong, he intends to confront his god even if he has to cut a bloody swathe through the Malazan Empire to do so. Further north, a new threat has emerged and now it seems it is the Teblor who are running out of time. Another long-feared migration is about to begin and this time it won't just be three warriors. No, this time tens of thousands are poised to pour into the lands to the south. And in their way, a single company of Malazan marines . . . At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

In The Grief of Stones, Katherine Addison returns to the world of The Goblin Emperor with a direct sequel to The Witness for the Dead... Locus Award Finalist! Book of the Month picks for BUZZFEED | LITHUB | GIZMODO | TRANSFER ORBIT | Amazon | Locus Magazine | and more As a Witness for the Dead, Thara Celehar can speak to the recently departed: see the last thing they saw, know the last thought they had, experience the last thing they felt. It is his duty to use that ability to ascertain the intent of the dead and to find the killers of the murdered. Celehar’s time in the city of Amalo has brought him both friends and enemies—and no little notoriety. Now, when solving the murder of a marquise raises more questions than it answers, he finds himself exploring Amalo’s dark underside. His investigations lead him to the Cemchelarna School for Foundling Girls, where all is not as it seems. Discovering the truth about its headmistress will lead Celehar deep into the city’s history—and into the shattering depths of the loss he fears the most. Within THE CHRONICLES OF OSRETH The Goblin Emperor The Cemeteries of Amalo trilogy The Witness for the Dead The Grief of Stones The Tomb of Dragons At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Jennifer Jeffries, a young Texan traveling in London, is kidnapped, becoming the victim of a violent assault. When she survives, the British detective in charge of her case needs her to testify against the serial killer who attacked her. Led by a tough ex-Special Forces sergeant with a warrior's mindset, her witness protection team tries to support her as she prepares to appear in one of London's Crown Courts. This British detective suspense novel moves from a realistic depiction of the female protagonist's PTSD to fast-paced courtroom scenes to the difficulties that traumatized individuals face as they struggle to regain personal power. The Witness breaks new ground by showing the enduring effects trauma can have on a life. The first of a trilogy, this work of crime suspense fiction contains the same psychological intensity as Anna Quindlen's Black and Blue, but while Ms. Quindlen's protagonist endures, Ms. Kryske's triumphs. Strong, complex male characters make this novel an entertaining, inspiring, and compelling read.