Dark Ages Literature

Published in rapid succession in the middle 1930s, these two books shocked European literature and world consciousness. Nominally fiction but more rightly called "creative confessions," they told of the author's childhood in excoriating Paris slums, of service in the mud wastes of World War I and African jungles. Mixing unmitigated despair with Gargantuan comedy, they also created a new style, in which invective and obscenity were laced with phrases of unforgettable poetry. Celine's influence revolutionized the contemporary approach to fiction.

The nomadic sled-city of Riika-Min glides endlessly along the icy tundra of Ghur, its denizens’ existence entwined with the rhythm of the realm. But something is disrupting the balance of the Realm of Beasts, and when a kraken suddenly attacks, Sigmar sends his master tracker, Yndrasta, the Celestial Spear, to hunt it down. In Riika-Min, Yndrasta meets Njda, trying to guide her people to safety. Njda is at once fearful and in awe of the golden-clad warrior from the sky, and soon learns how dangerous it can be to get between a hunter and her quarry.

Ireland, 1011 AD. The mortal kingdoms rise up against High King Brian Boru as they seek to wrest his crown from him. Yet the real struggle is between the two magical races of Ireland, the Fomorians and the Descendants, eternal enemies who both now seek dominion over the mortal world. Gormflaith, queen of King Brian, remains unmasked as the powerful Fomorian she is. Gormflaith plans to establish control over Ireland and destroy the Descendants in one fell swoop... but she cannot do it alone.

Nyssa Volari is dying. But that is impossible, because she is a Soulblight vampire, blessed by Nagash with blood-fuelled immortality. More than that, Nyssa is a fighter – one of the handful of Kastelai vampires not dissolved into true death when the Crimson Keep abandoned them a century ago. With her blades and her will, she carved a kingdom out of the Broken Plains of Aqshy. These things matter little, for Nyssa's blood is cursed. It destroyed the vampire she called father, and as it threatens to do the same to her, Nyssa's allies abandon her one by one.

To survive, Connor Magnuson must become a man with no equal. The path ahead is a deadly one. His end of the bargains he made to get this far have come due, and his debts take him back to a homeland he's been trying to forget. Kirkwall is an island of ancient secrets, and the magic in its soil will topple empires if he doesn't get to it first. His legend has begun to spread through the pubs, and others begin taking credit. Imposters pop up along the coast, and they threaten to undermine everything he has worked for.

The paladins have a storied history, one tainted by a twisted sacrifice. To fight the demon lords intent on taking over their world, they had to make a deal with one. Under this pact, paladin Cedric Arrington is forged into a weapon. Wearing his black armor to signal to all of Nirendia his dark allegiance, he is a man beset by shadow on a quest to send all demons back to the Abyss. A demon lord named Orcus emerges from the underworld, and the foundations of the human kingdom of Surdel begin to fracture and weaken. Undead rise without the Necromancer. Demons pour out of Mount Godun at the heart of the tranquil realm....

It’s dark outside, but hope will not be defeated. Michael, Akio, Yuko, and the rest are searching for the pieces necessary to put together a craft which Michael hopes will take him to Bethany Anne. But first, there are idiots in his way, seeking the same parts and intend to take them. By force. The challenge is they will find out what ‘force’ truly means when they dare to go up against the Dark Messiah. One way or another, Michael will get back to Bethany Anne.

You want the diamonds? You want the mansion? You want the lake, and boats, and the cars? You want the security? And the man? Then you do what you’re told. I live in his castle. I sit at his feet. I wear his collar. I am his offering. The Chosen Ones...the Ruling Class. They are a breed apart. And yes, that pedigree matters. Not just anyone can rise above and become their equal. It takes sacrifice.

For Thelana Evenfall, Lumineth loreseeker and tutor at the Lyceum Fundamental in the city of Settler's Gain, the weapon is a footnote—the shadow of a rumour buried under mountains of long-forgotten lore. But when whispers of its whereabouts resurface, the vying factions within Hysh emerge to claim its power. From trusted allies to insidious cults, Thelana must navigate a treacherous landscape of clashing armies, political machinations and betrayals within betrayals, all in a desperate effort to defend the powerless from the all-powerful and to ask the unanswerable question:

Life, death, and rebirth - in Becar, who you are in this life will determine your next life. Yet there is hope - you can change your destiny with the choices you make. But for the darkest individuals, there is no redemption: you come back as a kehok, a monster, and are doomed to be a kehok for the rest of time. Unless you can win the Races. After a celebrated career as an elite kehok rider, Tamra became a professional trainer. Then a tragic accident shattered her confidence, damaged her reputation, and left her nearly broke.

Vi was supposed to be the perfect crown princess. Then, she abandoned her throne. Vi was supposed to save the world as its Champion. Then, the world she loved vanished. Now, all she knows is that she has deadly magic and brutal cunning, and she's ready to settle some scores. Old loves and new allies tell her to play it safe. But Vi is done with caution. She has a chance to right ancient wrongs and this princess-turned-warrior isn't turning back. She's ready to bring an end to the vortex of death the world is trapped in.

To be born into a family of royal assassins pretty much guarantees that your life is going to be rather unusual. Especially if, like Miscellaneous 'Lanie' Stones, you also have a vicious allergy to all forms of violence and bloodshed, and an uncanny affinity for bringing the dead back to life. To make matters worse, family debt looms—a debt that will have to be paid sooner rather than later if Lanie and her sister are to retain ownership of the ancestral seat, Stones Manor.

In a futuristic world nearly destroyed by religious extremists, Justin March lives in exile after failing in his job as an investigator of religious groups and supernatural claims. But Justin is given a second chance when Mae Koskinen comes to bring him back to the Republic of United North America (RUNA). Raised in an aristocratic caste, Mae is now a member of the military's most elite and terrifying tier, a soldier with enhanced reflexes and skills. When Justin and Mae are assigned to work together to solve a string of ritualistic murders, they soon realize that their discoveries have exposed them to terrible danger.

Kieran Murphy is an Irish mob boss and one of the most powerful men in Boston. When he walks me home, people step aside out of respect for him. He could have any woman he wants. So why does he have eyes only for me? Is it how he has to lift my chin with his fingers to keep my eyes level with his when he scolds me and how I cover my bottom instinctively when he tells me that I've earned a spanking? Or is it how I quiver at the thought of everything I'm too ashamed to beg him to do to me? Maybe it's all of those, but I'm pretty sure there's something else too.

One evening, two years’ worth of memories lost. Under the pretense of recovery, my father sends me to an elite boarding college, but soon, my memories start rushing back, and it’s obvious I’m not at Lakeside to heal. I’m here to hide. Navigating the scattered past to decipher the threat lurking in the shadows is hard while I’m kept in the dark and even harder when he steals my focus. Crude, arrogant, and threatening, he draws me in, and the closer I get, the less I understand. Waking up without memories is terrifying, but remembering the time I lost is infinitely worse.

Jack extends his domain from the hills of Virginia to the waters of the Chesapeake in search of a more stable food supply. Unbeknownst to him, mechanized death under the control of a sadistic boy threatens what fragile progress he and the survivors at Big Timber have made. To protect the people he loves, Jack must ally with those he needs, and the line between savior and monster has never been blurrier.

Greed and ambition threaten to tear the north apart. War rages between the two kingdoms of Northumbria. Kin is pitted against kin, and friend becomes foe as ambitious kings vie for supremacy. When Beobrand travels south into East Angeln to rescue a friend, he unwittingly tilts the balance of power in the north, setting in motion events that will lead to a climactic confrontation between Oswiu of Bernicia and Oswine of Deira.

As cities rise across the Mortal Realms, Lord-Celestant Gardus Steel Soul leads his Hallowed Knights into darkest Shyish, hoping to gain a foothold for the forces of Azyr. But as the foundations of a new citadel are laid, the Hallowed Knights find themselves beset by enemies both living and dead. Now, Gardus must lead his warriors into the very heart of darkness to save the soul of a warrior long thought lost.

La verve abrupte de Virginie Despentes pour des croquis dévastateurs d'un monde qu'on côtoie sans vraiment le voir.

Lace, white, everything frilly and pretty. The theme to Sara’s life used to be that of a princess, one she romanticized. But when her previously perfect world turned upside down, Sara became convinced that she was cursed. She hid herself in the shadows to spare others from the agony she brought along. The only person she could never hide from was her adopted brother.