Fire & Blood

Fire & Blood
Author: George R. R. Martin
Publisher: Bantam
Total Pages: 737
Release: 2018-11-20
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1524796298

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The history of the Targaryens comes to life in this masterly work, the inspiration for HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon “The thrill of Fire & Blood is the thrill of all Martin’s fantasy work: familiar myths debunked, the whole trope table flipped.”—Entertainment Weekly Centuries before the events of A Game of Thrones, House Targaryen—the only family of dragonlords to survive the Doom of Valyria—took up residence on Dragonstone. Fire & Blood begins their tale with the legendary Aegon the Conqueror, creator of the Iron Throne, and goes on to recount the generations of Targaryens who fought to hold that iconic seat, all the way up to the civil war that nearly tore their dynasty apart. What really happened during the Dance of the Dragons? Why was it so deadly to visit Valyria after the Doom? What were Maegor the Cruel’s worst crimes? What was it like in Westeros when dragons ruled the skies? These are but a few of the questions answered in this essential chronicle, as related by a learned maester of the Citadel and featuring more than eighty black-and-white illustrations by artist Doug Wheatley. Readers have glimpsed small parts of this narrative in such volumes as The World of Ice & Fire, but now, for the first time, the full tapestry of Targaryen history is revealed. With all the scope and grandeur of Gibbon’s The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Fire & Blood is the first volume of the definitive two-part history of the Targaryens, giving readers a whole new appreciation for the dynamic, often bloody, and always fascinating history of Westeros. Praise for Fire & Blood “A masterpiece of popular historical fiction.” —The Sunday Times “The saga is a rich and dark one, full of both the title’s promised elements. . . . It’s hard not to thrill to the descriptions of dragons engaging in airborne combat, or the dilemma of whether defeated rulers should ‘bend the knee,’ ‘take the black’ and join the Night’s Watch, or simply meet an inventive and horrible end.”—The Guardian

A Storm of Swords: Part 2 Blood and Gold (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 3)

A Storm of Swords: Part 2 Blood and Gold (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 3)
Author: George R.R. Martin
Publisher: HarperCollins UK
Total Pages: 611
Release: 2011-06-02
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0007447744

HBO’s hit series A GAME OF THRONES is based on George R R Martin’s internationally bestselling series A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE, the greatest fantasy epic of the modern age. A STORM OF SWORDS: BLOOD AND GOLD is the SECOND part of the third volume in the series. ‘Colossal, staggering . . . one of the greats’ SFX

A Game of Thrones 4-Book Bundle

A Game of Thrones 4-Book Bundle
Author: George R. R. Martin
Publisher: Bantam
Total Pages: 3441
Release: 2011-03-22
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0345529065

The perfect gift for fans of HBO's Game of Thrones—a boxed set featuring the first four novels! George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series has become, in many ways, the gold standard for modern epic fantasy. Martin—dubbed the "American Tolkien" by Time magazine—has created a world that is as rich and vital as any piece of historical fiction, set in an age of knights and chivalry and filled with a plethora of fascinating, multidimensional characters that you love, hate to love, or love to hate as they struggle for control of a divided kingdom. This bundle includes the following novels: A GAME OF THRONES A CLASH OF KINGS A STORM OF SWORDS A FEAST FOR CROWS

Inside Straight

Inside Straight
Author: Daniel Abraham
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 396
Release: 2008-01-22
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9780765317810

From the #1 New York Times bestseller, the launch of a new generation of Wild Cards tales

Nine Perfect Strangers

Nine Perfect Strangers
Author: Liane Moriarty
Publisher: Macmillan Publishers Aus.
Total Pages: 494
Release: 2018-09-18
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1760780987

From the no. 1 New York Times bestselling author of The Husband's Secret, and Big Little Lies with new novel Apples Never Fall out now. NOW A MAJOR TV MINISERIES ON AMAZON PRIME The retreat at health and wellness resort Tranquillum House promises total transformation. Nine stressed city dwellers are keen to drop their literal and mental baggage, and absorb the meditative ambience while enjoying their hot stone massages. Watching over them is the resort's director, a woman on a mission to reinvigorate their tired bodies and minds. These nine perfect strangers have no idea what is about to hit them. With her wit, compassion and uncanny understanding of human behaviour, Liane Moriarty explores the depth of connection that can be formed when people are thrown together in... unconventional circumstances. LONGLISTED FOR THE ABIA GENERAL FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR 2019 LONGLISTED FOR THE INDIE BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION 2019 PRAISE FOR NINE PERFECT STRANGERS "She is...both hugely popular yet subversive...Nine Perfect Strangers shows Moriarty still taking risks with fiction...weighty issues writ with humour and a light touch. The hammer is still in the handbag, ready to smash a glass window or two." Lucy Sussex, The Australian "Welcome to Tranquillum House where those Perfect Strangers ... have come to sort out their lives ...This gives Moriarty the opportunity to do what she does best, write about the human condition and connections that bind us all, with wicked humour, empathy and compassion - and a little bit of danger thrown in." Frances Whiting, Courier Mail PRAISE FOR LIANE MORIARTY "One of the few writers I'll drop anything for. Her books are wise, honest, beautifully observed..." Jojo Moyes "Moriarty is a deft storyteller who creates believable, relatable characters." Washington Post "Moriarty is brilliant at her craft, all the time cranking up the suspense." The Age "funny and scary" Stephen King "Sharply intelligent" Entertainment Weekly "Mistress of the razor-sharp observation" Kate Morton

A Feast for Crows

A Feast for Crows
Author: George R. R. Martin
Publisher: Bantam
Total Pages: 786
Release: 2005-11-08
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0553900323

THE BOOK BEHIND THE FOURTH SEASON OF THE ACCLAIMED HBO SERIES GAME OF THRONES Few books have captivated the imagination and won the devotion and praise of readers and critics everywhere as has George R. R. Martin’s monumental epic cycle of high fantasy. Now, in A Feast for Crows, Martin delivers the long-awaited fourth book of his landmark series, as a kingdom torn asunder finds itself at last on the brink of peace . . . only to be launched on an even more terrifying course of destruction. A FEAST FOR CROWS It seems too good to be true. After centuries of bitter strife and fatal treachery, the seven powers dividing the land have decimated one another into an uneasy truce. Or so it appears. . . . With the death of the monstrous King Joffrey, Cersei is ruling as regent in King’s Landing. Robb Stark’s demise has broken the back of the Northern rebels, and his siblings are scattered throughout the kingdom like seeds on barren soil. Few legitimate claims to the once desperately sought Iron Throne still exist—or they are held in hands too weak or too distant to wield them effectively. The war, which raged out of control for so long, has burned itself out. But as in the aftermath of any climactic struggle, it is not long before the survivors, outlaws, renegades, and carrion eaters start to gather, picking over the bones of the dead and fighting for the spoils of the soon-to-be dead. Now in the Seven Kingdoms, as the human crows assemble over a banquet of ashes, daring new plots and dangerous new alliances are formed, while surprising faces—some familiar, others only just appearing—are seen emerging from an ominous twilight of past struggles and chaos to take up the challenges ahead. It is a time when the wise and the ambitious, the deceitful and the strong will acquire the skills, the power, and the magic to survive the stark and terrible times that lie before them. It is a time for nobles and commoners, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and sages to come together and stake their fortunes . . . and their lives. For at a feast for crows, many are the guests—but only a few are the survivors.

Old Venus

Old Venus
Author: George R. R. Martin
Publisher: Bantam
Total Pages: 584
Release: 2015-03-03
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0804179859

Sixteen all-new stories by science fiction’s top talents, collected by bestselling author George R. R. Martin and multiple-award-winning editor Gardner Dozois From pulp adventures such as Edgar Rice Burroughs’s Carson of Venus to classic short stories such as Ray Bradbury’s “The Long Rain” to visionary novels such as C. S. Lewis’s Perelandra, the planet Venus has loomed almost as large in the imaginations of science fiction writers as Earth’s next-nearest neighbor, Mars. But while the Red Planet conjured up in Golden Age science fiction stories was a place of vast deserts and ruined cities, bright blue Venus was its polar opposite: a steamy, swampy jungle world with strange creatures lurking amidst the dripping vegetation. Alas, just as the last century’s space probes exploded our dreams of Mars, so, too, did they shatter our romantic visions of Venus, revealing, instead of a lush paradise, a hellish world inimical to all life. But don’t despair! This new anthology of sixteen original stories by some of science fiction’s best writers—edited by #1 New York Times bestselling author George R. R. Martin and award-winning editor Gardner Dozois—turns back the clock to that more innocent time, before the hard-won knowledge of science vanquished the infinite possibilities of the imagination. Join our cast of award-winning contributors—including Elizabeth Bear, David Brin, Joe Haldeman, Gwyneth Jones, Mike Resnick, Eleanor Arnason, Allen M. Steele, and more—as we travel back in time to a planet that never was but should have been: a young, rain-drenched world of fabulous monsters and seductive mysteries. FEATURING ALL-NEW STORIES BY Eleanor Arnason • Elizabeth Bear • David Brin • Tobias S. Buckell • Michael Cassutt • Joe Haldeman • Matthew Hughes • Gwyneth Jones • Joe R. Lansdale • Stephen Leigh • Paul McAuley • Ian McDonald • Garth Nix • Mike Resnick • Allen M. Steele • Lavie Tidhar And an Introduction by Gardner Dozois

Race for the Iron Throne: Political and Historical Analysis of a Game of Thrones

Race for the Iron Throne: Political and Historical Analysis of a Game of Thrones
Author: Steven Attewell
Publisher:
Total Pages: 537
Release: 2018-05-16
Genre:
ISBN: 9781980635932

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.

The Tenth Region of the Night

The Tenth Region of the Night
Author: Taylor Marshall
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2016-11-01
Genre:
ISBN: 9780988442573

Not all battles are won by the sword. Jurian's victory against the dark power in Cyrene has earned him renown throughout the Empire, but fame means nothing to him if he can't save the friend he lost. When Jurian's search for Menas leads him to Alexandria, he finds an unlikely ally in the Roman governor's brilliant and precocious daughter, Aikaterina. Together they are swept into the glittering intrigue of Diocletian's court in Nicomedia, where no one and nothing is what it seems. Then Sabra arrives in the city, and Jurian proves to the Emperor that he is more than just a legend, and finally everything he ever hoped for seems within his reach. But Marcus Valerius Casca is also vying for Diocletian's favor, and his hatred for Jurian knows no limits. As Casca's devious plotting snares each of Jurian's friends in turn, Jurian must discover a way to beat his enemy at his own game and rescue Menas before he destroys them all. From the exotic Alexandria to the imperial court of Nicomedia and the bloody sands of the Roman Colosseum, this sweeping second installment of the Sword and Serpent series will pull you into a riveting adventure through a world of deadly intrigue, where nothing is what it seems and the price of freedom can be greater than life itself. Saints aren't born. They are forged.