Once you graduate from the academy, you're guaranteed an assignment. That was what Coura had always known and still believed even as she wasn't certain what position she desired. Unfortunately, her destiny never intended for such a simple life. Her mentor, dark mage master Byron, shows her there is more to the world when they travel to the capital city. However, underlying political manipulation and looming threats teach Coura how fragmented her world really is, and will become. Something frightening awaits as a secret locked away within herself as a child is forced to the forefront when she is confronted by angelic beings unseen for decades. Could her new, supposedly evil power stand up to that of legend? And, despite training with the sword and dark magic her entire life, is Coura truly prepared for the role she was fated to play between the angels and long-forgotten demons?

A gentle story about sadness showing that sometimes all you need to feel better is the openness of someone who accepts you as you are.

From two of the greatest imaginations of our time comes a magnificent novel of adventure and magic...SHADOW MOON: First in the Chronicles of the Shadow War. The genius of Star Wars(r) creator George Lucas and the vision of Chris Claremont, the author of the phenomenally bestselling The Uncanny X-Men adventures, merge in what must be the fantasy event of the year. In Shadow Moon, war and chaos have gripped the land of Tir Asleen. An ancient prophecy reveals one hope: a savior princess who will ascend to the throne when the time is right. But first, a Nelwyn wanderer must face forces of unimaginable malevolence and dangerous, forbidden rites of necromancy that could bring back a powerful warrior from soulless sleep. George Lucas reshaped filmmaking in the '70s and '80s with his Star Wars and Indiana Jones films. When Bantam Books asked Lucas if he had any stories he would like to develop as novels rather than as films, Lucas turned to his 1988 fantasy film, Willow. "When I wrote the story for Willow, I began with the pre-story," Lucas said, "but the full story was yet to be told." Now, Lucas's vision is being fulfilled with the talented help of Chris Claremont. Having previously taken the reins of what was for a decade the bestselling comic in the western hemisphere (The Uncanny X-Men) Claremont assumes the reponsibility of foster parent to Lucas's creation. On sale in hardcover now, and available on BDD Audio Cassette as well, SHADOW MOON is a momentous new adventure for readers looking to spend part of this summer in a fantastic world. SHADOW MOON is one of Bantam Spectra's most exciting publishing events in 1995, the year we celebrate our 10th Anniversary as the premiere publishing imprint of books of speculative fiction.

What's in a shadow? Menace, seduction, or salvation? Immaterial but profound, shadows lurk everywhere in literature and the visual arts, signifying everything from the treachery of appearances to the unfathomable power of God. From Plato to Picasso, from Rembrandt to Welles and Warhol, from Lord of the Rings to the latest video game, shadows act as central players in the drama of Western culture. Yet because they work silently, artistic shadows often slip unnoticed past audiences and critics. Conceived as an accessible introduction to this elusive phenomenon, Grasping Shadows is the first book that offers a general theory of how all shadows function in texts and visual media. Arguing that shadow images take shape within a common cultural field where visual and verbal meanings overlap, William Sharpe ranges widely among classic and modern works, revealing the key motifs that link apparently disparate works such as those by Fra Angelico and James Joyce, Clementina Hawarden and Kara Walker, Charles Dickens and Kumi Yamashita. Showing how real-world shadows have shaped the meanings of shadow imagery, Grasping Shadows guides the reader through the techniques used by writers and artists to represent shadows from the Renaissance onward. The last chapter traces how shadows impact the art of the modern city, from Renoir and Zola to film noir and projection systems that capture the shadows of passers-by on streets around the globe. Extending his analysis to contemporary street art, popular songs, billboards, and shadow-theatre, Sharpe demonstrates a practical way to grasp the "dark side" that looms all around us.