“An enthralling conclusion to this superb trilogy, displaying an exceptional combination of originality, magic, adventure, character, and drama.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review) King Shrewd is dead at the hands of his son Regal. As is Fitz—or so his enemies and friends believe. But with the help of his allies and his beast magic, he emerges from the grave, deeply scarred in body and soul. The kingdom also teeters toward ruin: Regal has plundered and abandoned the capital, while the rightful heir, Prince Verity, is lost to his mad quest—perhaps to death. Only Verity’s return—or the heir his princess carries—can save the Six Duchies. But Fitz will not wait. Driven by loss and bitter memories, he undertakes a quest: to kill Regal. The journey casts him into deep waters, as he discovers wild currents of magic within him—currents that will either drown him or make him something more than he was. Praise for Robin Hobb and Assassin’s Quest “Fantasy as it ought to be written . . . Robin Hobb’s books are diamonds in a sea of zircons.”—George R. R. Martin “Superbly written, wholly satisfying, unforgettable: better than any fantasy trilogy in print—including mine!”—Melanie Rawn

Brother Luke, Keeper of the Sword, faces a daunting task. The Sword, weary from its battles, yearns for rest, and it falls upon Brother Luke to find a secure haven where it can slumber until called upon once more. His journey has taken him across the length and breadth of the British Isles, yet the elusive spot remains hidden. As he trudges across another desolate moor, the heavens unleash a torrent of rain, hammering down upon him. Cold, wet, and on the brink of despair, Brother Luke fears that without help, he will soon succumb to the harsh elements. With his last ounce of strength, he seeks aid in a nearby village, but his pleas are met with cold indifference. Told to leave, he has no choice but to resume his arduous journey. Tragedy strikes when Brother Luke is viciously attacked, kicked, beaten, and left for dead. His precious charge, the Sword, is stolen from him. Barely clinging to life, he is discovered by chance. Despite his grave condition, Brother Luke knows that he must rise once more and find the Sword, no matter where it may be. His mission is far from over, and he will stop at nothing to fulfil his sacred duty as Keeper of the Sword.

CAD82: 5th International Conference and Exhibition on Computers in Design Engineering is a collection of conference and review papers related to design engineering. The book, which is divided into 18 parts, covers papers on talking points in Computer-Aided Design (CAD), including micros in the design office, drafting systems, and introducing CAD into the industry. The text presents papers on building design, CAD/CAM, databases, education, electronics, geometric modeling, graphics, mechanical engineering, and structures. The book concludes by providing poster sessions that tackle topics, such as a formalized methodology in CAD, which provides a framework for exploring such design and performance relationships for multi-variable, multi-objective problems; a system for computer-aided architectural design; a technique for automatic interpretation; and a system of modeling three-dimensional roof forms. Design engineers and students taking CAD courses will find this book helpful.

This sweeping study of fantasy literature offers “new and often surprising readings of works both familiar and obscure. A fine critical work” (Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts). Transcending arguments over the definition of fantasy literature, Rhetorics of Fantasy introduces a provocative new system of classification for the genre. Drawing on nearly two hundred examples of modern fantasy, author Farah Mendlesohn identifies four categories—portal-quest, immersive, intrusion, and liminal—that arise out of the relationship of the protagonist to the fantasy world. Using these sets, Mendlesohn argues that the author's stylistic decisions are then shaped by the inescapably political demands of the category in which they choose to write. Each chapter covers at least twenty books in detail, ranging from nineteenth-century fantasy and horror to some of the best works in the contemporary field. Mendlesohn discusses works by more than one hundred authors, including Lloyd Alexander, Peter Beagle, Marion Zimmer Bradley, John Crowley, Stephen R. Donaldson, Stephen King, C. S. Lewis, Gregory Maguire, Robin McKinley, China Miéville, Suniti Namjoshi, Philip Pullman, J. K. Rowling, Sheri S. Tepper, J. R. R. Tolkien, Tad Williams, and many others.