Dark Ages Literature

Moonhallow harbours a dreadful secret, and it keeps the populace in a perpetual state of anxiety – not that the town's ruthless arbiter is prepared to do anything about it. Across the great forest to Moonhallow's east, Galen and Doralia Ven Denst return from a gruelling mission for the Order of Azyr, seeking shelter in the mysterious Temple of Silence. However, the two witch hunters won't get much in the way of a warm welcome from the strange priests that reside there as the temple has its own secret, the ramifications of which are inextricably tied to the fate of Moonhallow.

Adam Craig is fourteen when he meets Brid near an isolated Celtic stone in the wild Scottish Highlands—he is fascinated by her exotic, gypsy-like dress and strange attitudes. They become friends, and, in time, passionate lovers. She leads him, unsuspecting, into the sixth century, where she has mastered the ancient mysteries and dangerous magic of the Druids. In her obsession with Adam, Brid is seen as a traitor by her people, only escaping death by following Adam to Edinburgh, when he leaves home to study medicine.

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.

Finding himself alone in a posh New York City hotel room for the night, Aidan does what any red-blooded 17-year-old would do - tries to hook up with someone new. But that lapse in judgement leads him to a room with a dead guy and a mysterious flash drive...two things that spark an epic case of mistaken identity that puts Aidan on the run - from the authorities, his friends, his family, the people who are out to kill him - and especially from his own troubled past.

The Goddess rises up through the ashes of dead divinity to light a beacon for a world of ancient shadows. To conquer the reflections beyond, she must face the one that lies in the mirror. A cherished companion left in jeopardy, the Mystery Cult of the Goddess of Mirrors, Fate, Illusion, and Light has nonetheless grown and prospered, crushing its enemies and forging key alliances in two powerful cities. Faith Energy? Followers? Gold? It’s all rolling in. Her cup overflows. But to wake the one she cares for so dearly, she’d toss it all aside in an instant.

There is a general belief that books give a wider room for imaginations - even wider than the room that watching a movie affords you, and truthfully so. These tales, when listened to in the dark, will leave you with much to imagine - an arm covered in goose bumps and the back of your neck with all the hackles on their ends. The curtains you see might not be curtains. The mirrors, too, might become home to many faces and the old man by the road might not be what you think he is. Welcome to the home of scary and macabre tales.

Under the rule of a usurper king, the realm of Skala has suffered famine, plague, and invasion. But now the time for the rightful heir has come, a return to the tradition of warrior queens. And the Lightbearer's prophecy is to be upheld at last: so long as a daughter of the royal line defends and rules, Skala will never be subjugated. Now a mystical fire has burned away the male body known as Prince Tobin, revealing Princess Tamír, a girl on the verge of womanhood - and a queen ready to claim her birthright.

Nagash is cast down. The Lumineth stand triumphant. Mighty Teclis, in his wisdom, has left his children to guard the tomb of the Great Necromancer. Loreseeker Elarin the Illuminated is one such soul. Determined to prevent Nagash’s resurrection, she delves deeper than any other, risking both the ire of her allies and her very being to uncover the secrets of Marrowscar. However, a hidden danger lies at the heart of this ancient Ossiarch necropolis.

Kieran's love life didn't get off to a good start. He threw up after his first kiss; he was beaten up by the first girl to have a crush on him; and after a mix-up with his first love letter, he could only sit back and watch as the entire school mistook him for a brutal murderer. By the time the hormones kicked in, Kieran had all but given up on love, but the worst was yet to come.

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.

This book of interconnected stories depicts the chaotic life of a young boy on the run with his teenage mother. When Sarah reclaims Jeremiah from his foster parents, he finds himself catapulted into her world of motels and truck stops, exposed to the abusive, exploitative men she encounters. As he learns to survive in this harrowing environment, Jeremiah also learns to love his mother, even as she descends into drug-fueled madness.

Seventeen-year-old Aria Cayetano dreams of ghosts. She used to see them too, but thanks to a special tea brewed by her grandfather, Aria’s connection to the spirit world has been severed. Until a decades old rosebush suddenly dies across the street, convincing Aria that something supernatural is happening in her neighborhood. She aches to investigate it, but the rosebush sits on her ex-best friend Derek Johnson’s front lawn, and she can't question him because he hates her now.

Junior Bender, Los Angeles burglar and off-the-books detective to the felonious, is reminded that rock and roll will never die (no matter how fervently he wishes some of it would) when Hollywood’s most dangerous geriatric mobster, Irwin Dressler, retains Junior’s investigative services to solve a rather unharmonious problem. Junior has one weekend to figure out who’s to blame—a weekend that begins with his tires being slashed, threatening notes left on his car, and a theatrical backdrop falling on a drummer during the truly terrible first set of the first concert.

I offered to do anything to save my father’s life when he was captured by the devil he owed a debt to. A three-million-dollar debt. So, I became the devil’s spy as I entered the lair of the Cartel King to take a job as a live-in nanny for his niece. My orders were simple; all I needed to do was this: get close to the Cartel King and be his...to do anything he wanted me to do. I was to make him trust me enough to tell me the secrets his enemies need. Do that, and I would save my father. I just never expected to fall in love.

Seventeen-year-old Shae has lived her entire life in awe of the Bards - and afraid of the Blot, a deadly disease spread by ink, which took the life of her younger brother five years ago. Ever since, Shae fears she's cursed. But when tragedy strikes again, and her mother is found murdered with a golden dagger - a weapon used only by the Bards - Shae is forced to act.

Araña is a Spider-Girl lost in time. . . . Miguel is a Spider-Man who's lost his way. . . . Together, they're our only hope.

Oscar and his dog have made a pretty good life for themselves, despite the fact that Oscar’s family has all but vanished - his father is dead; his mother has a new boyfriend. His older sister, Rachel, fled five years ago...right after Mr. Cigar bit off her hand. Despite the freak accident, Oscar knows his dog is no menace. Mr. Cigar is a loyal protector: a supernatural creature that can exact revenge, communicate telepathically, and manipulate car doors and windows with ease.

When Nalia arrives in Morocco to fulfill Malek's third and final wish, she's not expecting it to be easy. Especially because Malek isn't the only one after Solomon's sigil, an ancient magical ring that gives its wearer the power to control the entire jinn race. Nalia has also promised to take Raif, leader of the jinn revolution, to its remote location. Though Nalia is free of the bottle and shackles that once bound her to Malek as his slave, she's in more danger than ever before.

The latest title in a series based on characters from the best-selling War of Souls trilogy. This title is the next in the series that explores the lives of key characters from Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman's current Dragonlance trilogy. Dark Thane describes events that directly overlap events during the War of Souls. Author Jeff Crook also wrote the kickoff title for this series, Conundrum.

Life is precious and precarious on the islands of Belene. Besieged by a capricious ocean full of malicious spirits, the people of the islands seek joy where they can. Mayara, one of the island’s fearless oyster divers, has found happiness in love. But on the day of her wedding to the artist Kelo, a spirit-driven storm hits the island with deadly force. To save her loved ones, Mayara reveals a dangerous secret: She has the power to control the spirits. When the storm ends, she is taken into custody by the queen’s soldiers and imprisoned with other women like her.