The Dark Rangers threaten the survival of Rangers and the kingdom. Will our friends be able to unmask their leader and stop them before the conspiracy is completed? An appeal has been made to convene The Grand Council. The Ranger leaders will meet to study the threat of the dark secret faction and find a way to end the threat. The Snow Panthers will be immersed in the conspiracy and will play a critical role in its resolution. They will also continue their investigations to discover who is trying to end the lives of Lasgol and Egil, and the relationship between the attempts. Will they manage to catch the leader of the Dark Rangers? Will they stop the conspiracy that threatens them and the throne? Will they find out who is behind the attempts on their lives? Find out while you live fascinating adventures with a group of unique characters that will make you fall in love with them. Enjoy adventures full of action, adventure, magic and romance! Epic fantasy for the whole family!

This work studies the Great Council of Malines as an institution. It analyzes the Council’s internal organization and staff policy, its position within the broader society of the Austrian Netherlands, the volume and nature of litigation at the Council and its final years and ultimate demise in the late 18th and early 19th century. By means of this institutional study, this volume provides insight into the role played by the Great Council in the process of state-building in the 18th century Austrian Netherlands. While superior courts were once considered to be the prime agencies of change in the Early Modern Period, tools par excellence for the sovereigns’ striving towards centralization and superiority, their position in the 18th century has so far been barely touched upon. This work focuses specifically on the 18th century supreme court of the Austrian Netherlands and provides a broad overview with attention to other aspects of the tribunal's functioning and to its role in 18th century attempts at state formation.

A GAME OF THRONES How would you like to read A Game of Thrones with a PhD by your side?Steven Attewell, creator of Race for the Iron Throne (racefortheironthrone.wordpress.com), is one of the most insightful scholars in political theory and history, but instead of devoting his talents to academia, he's delving into George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire saga to give the most comprehensive deconstruction - and explanation - yet offered.Each one of Thrones's 73 chapters is broken down in meticulous detail in four key areas. The Political and Historical Analyses explore the political ramifications that each character's decisions entail while digging into the real-world historical incidents that inspired Martin's narrative twists and turns. What If? offers up a tantalizing look at how these political and historical elements could have played out in dozens of alternative scenarios, underscoring the majesty and complexity of Martin's storytelling. And Book vs. Show looks at the key differences - both good and bad - between the story as originally conceived on the printed page and as realized in HBO's Game of Thrones.At nearly 204,000 words, it's almost literally impossible to imagine a more exhaustive or authoritative reading companion for any novel ever before published.Note: there are spoilers for all five published novels in the Song of Ice and Fire series. About the author Steven Attewell is the author of Race for the Iron Throne, a blog that examines the history and politics of the Song of Ice and Fire series and HBO's Game of Thrones. He has a PhD in History from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he studied the history of public policy and was a political and union activist. In addition to Race for the Iron Throne, Steven is also a co-podcaster on Game of Thrones at the Lawyers, Guns, and Money podcast, writes about public policy at the Realignment Project, and is a co-author of the Tower of the Hand: A Hymn for Spring anthology book.

NEW ENTRY IN THE DRAGON AWARD–WINNING ARCANE AMERICA SERIES from New York Times best-selling alternate history master Eric Flint. The passage of Halley’s Comet in 1759 is catastrophic. The comet appears to strike the Earth, sundering the New World from the Old. A chain of mountains rises in the Mid-Atlantic. No ship from the Old World arrives in America. No ship from the New World can find a passage to the Old—and most who try simply disappear. The comet has also unleashed magic forces, which soon spread everywhere. Slaves begin using powers derived from African witchcraft, bringing monsters from that continent into the New World. The native tribes begin doing the same. Some European settlers devise ways to couple Old World technology with sorcery. Kraken in the Atlantic, revenants in Jamaica, Dry Hands and Floating Heads in the Hudson valley, African ogres and worse set loose in the streets of New York. Magic of all kinds, emerging everywhere, most of it poorly if at all controlled. The powerful Iroquois Confederacy disintegrates. The Onondaga Council Fire is extinguished; the Seneca and Cayuga follow their own shaman and war leader, and the Mohawks ally with the English. For their part, the English and the French in North America, who had been on the brink of war when the Sundering came, now have to contemplate what would once have been unthinkable. They must not simply forge a military alliance against the rising dark powers but may even have to unite politically behind the young English prince Edward, now the only person of royal blood left in the terrifying world created by the Sundering. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). About Uncharted: "History and mythology meld admirably, leading to a satisfying conclusion. This hardy adventure establishes a world ripe for many more rousing stories."—Publishers Weekly "With a light and brisk narrative that propels its heroes through a number of increasingly dangerous situations, this combination of alternate history and fantasy should appeal to fans of Eric Flint, Harry Turtledove, and historical fantasy in general."—Booklist “While delivering plenty of action that approximates the best of cinematic fantasy, Hoyt and Anderson also strive for—and achieve—a kind of gravitas that suitably reflects the majesty of an untrammeled continent. Their descriptions of raw nature and its emotional repercussions on the humans are subtly poetic without being overblown. The native tribes are depicted in authentic ways, especially the people of Sacagawea. . . .The characterization of all the cast members is deep and revelatory of human nature. . . . There is also humor amidst the seriousness . . . [Anderson and Hoyt’s] prose is a clear-eyed, sturdy naturalism meshed with flights of vivid unreality . . . filled with not only slambang adventures but also a kind of rational optimism that has become rare in genre works these days. . . Hoyt and Anderson, a kind of de Camp and Pratt for the twenty-first century, convey these ideals without lectures or sermons, embodying them in principled people doing exciting things.”—Locus About Eric Flint: “This alternate history series is … a landmark…”—Booklist “[Eric] Flint's 1632 universe seems to be inspiring a whole new crop of gifted alternate historians.”—Booklist “…reads like a technothriller set in the age of the Medicis…”—Publishers Weekly About Walter H. Hunt: "A compelling and immersive novel in which every word feels authentic and every chapter draws the reader deeper into the dark and terrifying power of the mind.”—New York Journal of Books

Winner of the John Gilmary Shea Prize The Council of Trent (1545–1563), the Catholic Church’s attempt to put its house in order in response to the Protestant Reformation, has long been praised and blamed for things it never did. Now, in this first full one-volume history in modern times, John W. O’Malley brings to life the volatile issues that pushed several Holy Roman emperors, kings and queens of France, and five popes—and all of Europe with them—repeatedly to the brink of disaster. During the council’s eighteen years, war and threat of war among the key players, as well as the Ottoman Turks’ onslaught against Christendom, turned the council into a perilous enterprise. Its leaders declined to make a pronouncement on war against infidels, but Trent’s most glaring and ironic silence was on the authority of the papacy itself. The popes, who reigned as Italian monarchs while serving as pastors, did everything in their power to keep papal reform out of the council’s hands—and their power was considerable. O’Malley shows how the council pursued its contentious parallel agenda of reforming the Church while simultaneously asserting Catholic doctrine. Like What Happened at Vatican II, O’Malley’s Trent: What Happened at the Council strips mythology from historical truth while providing a clear, concise, and fascinating account of a pivotal episode in Church history. In celebration of the 450th anniversary of the council’s closing, it sets the record straight about the much misunderstood failures and achievements of this critical moment in European history.

BOOK REVIEW An appreciation by Elizabeth Robson Taylor MA of Richmond Green Chambers and Phillip Taylor MBE, Head of Chambers, Reviews Editor, "The Barrister", and Mediator. Paul Patterson has undeniable courage in producing his personal critical survey on what he calls "a costs scam" involving council tax recovery processes. He is an angry man! And his anger is about the concept of the award of costs which are at the discretion of the court. There are always at least two sides if not more to a story, and costs are often as emotional as the judgment itself. Sadly, the way in which council tax payments are obtained from the local electorate has remained an area of concern for many since 1275 with the initial poll tax conflict, reignited with the modern council tax. In his earlier book, an historic forerunner entitled, "My Council Tax Stance" from October 2017, Paul wrote: "This all started in January 2016 when my son Jay started to tell me how the council where investing in arms companies, if that wasn't immoral enough, it came apparent that the council are deceiving people who have fallen into arrears with their council tax. They are deceiving them in the summons they are sending out to them." He continues, declaring that a summons is "nothing more than an invitation to the council's place of business, a room in the magistrates' court, nothing to do with the magistrates, just a way of putting fear into you. Hundreds of people all summons to appear at Bodmin Magistrates Court on a Friday afternoon at 1.20pm." With his new paperback, Paul has expanded his points to cover the pandemic and after. Paul then sets the scene, stating that "a council officer will be waiting to usher you into their place of business, get you into agreeing to paying by instalment and that way accepting liability without even seeing a magistrate. In his original book, he offers advice that many of the letters he cites can be used as templates for your own council tax stance". And Paul is back on the attack in 2020 with "The Great Council Tax Recovery Scam". He updates his original work setting out how a Defendant might challenge costs in a practical way. There is an analogy here to the non-payment of the licence fee where those opposed to such fees were encouraged "on mass" to make a challenge and clog up the court system. With the sheer numbers of Defendants in both licence fee and council tax cases being so high. The court (and the Johnson government since 2019) have remained concerned at the numbers and chaos which can ensue. Bulk listing liability orders have been a matter of concern with the council tax and many other civil proceedings where the allegation is that the Claimant receives preferential treatment with their causes of action, and the inflated costs sought against mainly vulnerable people. There is only one conclusion: urgent reform. There is also a bigger issue about the extent of the powers of local government officials who are often considered to "over-egg" the costs they seek by doubling up the sums of money for work done. Sadly, it remains the position that costs so often out-strip any sums of money sought or issues in dispute resolved which makes a mockery of "open justice" which remains the preserve of the rich (except the council tax payer). It is clear this book will be highly unpopular with many officials, and it does not aim to replace professional legal advice which should be sought. It is feared that the only real solution is a root and branch reform which will occur with the post-Covid developing chaos to the justice system once tax arrears and costs claims return to the courts. You are very brave to take these people on, Paul.

Offers guidance and motivation for more effectively using councils in leadership positions as well as family situations.