Classic Literature Dark

What happens when The Firm meets Anita Blake? You get the Halls of Power - our modern world, but twisted. Law, finance, the military, and politics are under the sway of long-lived vampires, werewolves, and the elven Alfar. Humans make the best of rule by “the Spooks”, and contend among themselves to affiliate with the powers-that-be, in order to avoid becoming their prey. Very loyal humans are rewarded with power over other women and men. Very lucky humans are selected to join the vampires.

For Manannán mac Lir, a musician and Celtic demigod, life had become a blur of post-gig parties, expensive whisky, and cheap sex. And then the baby almost died--a baby he had sworn to protect. On the hunt for the would-be killer, Mac finds Artemis Black, a stunningly dangerous woman who's inexplicably able to intertwine life magic with death magic. For the safety of his people, he should destroy her. But the aching vulnerability in her eyes calls to him.

Alexandra Yorke, witch and clairvoyant, is in a lot of trouble. Together with her friends, she has managed to track down the man killing people in her county, but when Douglas tries to capture him, things go wrong and Alex finds herself forced through the rune gate. Marooned on the magical world of Othala with Douglas and their friends, Alex journeys toward the capital of Inari to warn the queen of treachery, but the goddess has her own plans for Alex, and sends one of her chosen to intercept her.

Welcome to Archers Beach in the Changing Land, the last and least of the Six Worlds, where magic works, sometimes, and the Guardian husbands the vitality of the land and everyone on it - earth spirit and plain human alike. Kate Archer, Guardian and carousel-keeper, has been busy making some changes of her own, notably beginning a romantic relationship with Borgan, the Guardian of the Gulf of Maine, Kate's opposite number, and, some would say, her natural mate.

It is the Black Dawn, a time of environmental apocalypse, the earth wracked and dying. It is the Bright Day, a time long generations hence, when a peace has descended across the world. In each era, a child shall be chosen. Their task is to find a dark messiah known only as the Crowman. But is he our savior - or the final incarnation of evil?

For the love of her vampire suitor, Karl, Charlotte has forsaken her human life. Now her only contact with people is when she hunts them down to feed. Her thirst for blood repulses her but its fulfilment brings ecstasy. The one light in the shadows is the passion that burns between her and Karl. A love that it seems will last for eternity - until Karl's former lover, the seductively beautiful Katerina, is rescued from the Crystal Ring. For nearly fifty years she has lain, as dead, in the icy depths of the Weisskalt.

As war between Alden and Oridia intensifies, King Erik must defend his kingdom from treachery and enemies on all sides - but the greatest danger lurks closer to home. When the war began, Lady Alix Black played a minor role, scouting at the edge of the king's retinue in relative anonymity. Though she's once again facing an attacking Oridian force determined to destroy all she holds dear, she is now bodyguard to the king and wife to the prince. Still, she is unprepared for what the revival of the war will mean.

"Il Maestro e Margherita" è il romanzo più conosciuto di Michail Bulgakov e capolavoro della letteratura del XX secolo. Dopo svariate stesure viene ultimato dalla moglie dello scrittore un anno dopo la sua prematura morte. Oggetto di censura da parte dell'autorità dell'Unione Sovietica, vede la pubblicazione nella sua integrità solo venti anni più tardi. A rendere il romanzo tanto scabroso è l'impietoso e satirico ritratto della Russia stalinista che l'autore fa emergere attraverso le caratterizzazioni dei numerosi personaggi che prendono parte alla storia: individui meschini e gretti, la cui infima statura morale viene svelata dall'arrivo, inatteso e incredibile, di Satana in persona, incarnato nell'esperto di magia nera Woland, e del suo losco e bizzarro entourage.

Dans Une ténébreuse affaire, l'un des volumes les moins connus de la Comédie humaine, Balzac utilise un fait divers—l'enlévement mystérieux, sous le Premier Empire, d'un sénateur averti du complot ourdi par Fouché contre Napoléon Bonaparte—pour écrire un livre où il met son talent romanesque au service d'une intrigue politique et policiére.

Hamley es un pequeño pueblo donde Edward Wilkins ejerce como abogado, al igual que hizo su padre antes que él. Su habilidad para contar historias y su aguda inteligencia permiten que se gane la simpatía de los nobles locales, aunque por supuesto, nunca lo considerarán como un igual y lo sabe. Conmocionado por la muerte de su esposa y su segunda hija, el señor Wilkins se centra en su hija mayor, Ellinor, cuya vida parece perfecta: está enamorada del joven señor Corbet, un estudiante de derecho brillante y ambicioso.

Meet George Marvin Brush, one of Thornton Wilder's most memorable characters. Brush, a traveling textbook salesman, is a fervent religious convert who is determined to lead a good life. With sad and sometimes hilarious consequences, his travels take him through smoking cars, bawdy houses, banks, and campgrounds from Texas to Illinois - and into the soul of America itself.

In an isolated castle deep in the Austrian forest, Laura leads a solitary life with only her ailing father for company. Until one moonlit night, a horse-drawn carriage crashes into view, carrying an unexpected guest—the beautiful Carmilla. So begins a feverish friendship between Laura and her mysterious, entrancing companion. But as Carmilla becomes increasingly strange and volatile, prone to eerie nocturnal wanderings, Laura finds herself tormented by nightmares and growing weaker by the day.

Cherished by a Father, coveted by a king, loved by an almost-priest; tormented by demons, tortured by a madman, hunted by a cult, hounded by her father. Mouse has survived it all. Despite Mouse's power, her father always wanted a son - and now, at long last, he has him. And Mouse has a brother, someone else in the world just like her. Hiding among a tribe of the Martu in the isolation of the Australian outback near the edges of Lake Disappointment, Mouse and Angelo have seemingly evaded at least one of the predators hunting them.

Travelling to the Ice Kingdom, along with her bodyguard Dylan - who continues to be bound to her - to where the holder of her magic dwells. The War of Faerie amplifies and her only chance to save it will be to resist the enchantments of the Ice King, one of the ancient rulers of Faerie. But he has his own agenda and will do anything to stop her from making it to the Summer Kingdom, with her family, to claim back her throne.

With her murderous maker still on the run, Cherry has enough on her mind even before her newly turned boyfriend, Alex, demands they meet each other's parents. Constantine, her ex and now member of the vampire council, is suspiciously quick to allow this breach of vampire law. It soon becomes clear there's a lot Cherry doesn't know about her family's past.

Pierce Ambrose. That was the name of the man I'd been sent to kill. The man I'd failed to kill. I have one day left to make good on my contract before the thugs holding my sister and her son start sending me pieces of them. Pierce Ambrose. A man with a secret I didn't uncover until it was too late to turn back, too late to give up on trying to kill him. Now, if I want to see my sister and nephew again, I have to try one last time. My name is Mac Brennan, and this time I'm playing for keeps.

This was the book that launched a genre. Modern fantasy collections trace their lineage back to Lord Dunsany, and this was his first work that today's listeners would recognise in tone and settings.

Against her will, Anita Burgess accompanies her brother, Jeffrey, to Collinwood. He is determined to get revenge against Quentin Collins, who he believes is responsible for his best friend’s death. Pretending friendship toward Quentin, Anita and Jeffrey learn he has established a back magic center at Collinwood and has several young women completely under his power. ​Jeffrey enlists Barnabas’ aid in his struggle to destroy Quentin - both to avenge his friend’s death and to free the young women. But does he not realize that by destroying Quentin, he risks destroying Anita.

Heiress Betty Ward is worried about her twin sister, who has eloped with Jeremy Frene. She follows them from Paris to Frene estate at Collinwood - but arrives too late! Her twin is dead, victim of a mysterious illness. Her body has been sealed in a crystal coffin and kept in a darkened room. Jeremy swears that because her ghost returns to the castle each night, he refuses to bury the coffin.

When a series of dark rituals devastates the fledgeling Church of Canta, Jane and Cinzia realize they have ignored the movements in the shadows for too long. Daemons lurk at the edge of the world, and they are done knocking. With Knot at her side, Cinzia deals with dark beings to fight the greater evil. Meanwhile, Astrid's attempts to elude the Black Matron backfire, and she faces that which she fears above all things: her own past. Winter, in hopes of regaining something of her old life, returns to Pranna to find the village nothing like it used to be.