Embittered by preventable bloodshed and enthralled by their own historic goals, the nine nations of the world strain the peace of their deeply flawed federation.In this fractured world, a band of animal limbed raiders set a small border village to the torch, butchering its defenders. Having escaped the carnage, four people watch their home burn:Born with a detestable elite name, Vernon Meyorter had personally seen the enormous greed of the elites and had been glad to leave ...

This book describes what is argued to be the most effective way of doing public administration thinking. Its aim is to encourage governments to govern fundamentally better in terms of policy and administration.A better understanding of context and identities, imaginization, epistemic pluralism, anti-administration, and the context of economics are examples of what is critical for high effectiveness. The pieces included in this book have been handpicked from the vast academic collec...

Far more than a dry hagiographical account of the lives of saints, this entertaining and authoritative dictionary breathes life into its subjects and is as browsable as it is informative. First published in 1978, the Oxford Dictionary of Saints offers more than 1,700 fascinating and informative entries covering the lives, cults, and artistic associations of saints from around the world, from the famous to the obscure, the rich to the poor, and the academic to the uneducated. From ...

The bestselling Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms provides clear and concise definitions of the most troublesome literary terms, from abjection to zeugma. It is an essential reference tool for students of literature in any language. Now expanded and in its fourth edition, it includes increased coverage of new terms from modern critical and theoretical movements, such as feminism, schools of American poetry, Spanish verse forms, life writing, and...

Game of Thrones fans will love the New York Times bestselling Abhorsen series. Sabriel, the first installment in the trilogy, launched critically acclaimed author Garth Nix onto the fantasy scene as a rising star.Dark Secrets, Deep Love, and Dangerous MagicSent to a boarding school in Ancelstierre as a young child, Sabriel has had little experience with the random power of Free Magic or the Dead who refuse to stay dead in the Old Kingdom. But during her final semester, her ...

In this riveting sequel to Sabriel, master of fantasy and globally bestselling author Garth Nix returns to the fantastic world of the Old Kingdom.Who is Lirael? And what is her destiny?Lirael has never felt like a true daughter of the Clayr. Abandoned by her mother, ignorant of her father’s identity, Lirael resembles no one else in her large extended family living in the Clayr’s Glacier. She doesn’t even have the Sight — t...

An epic fantasy adventure, set six hundred years before Sabriel, featuring a doomed hero and her struggle to choose her own destiny.SHORT-LISTED ABIA Award, Older ChildrenDoes the walker choose the path, or the path the walker?Clariel is the daughter of one of the most notable families in the Old Kingdom, with blood relations to the Abhorsen, and to the King. When her family moves to the city of Belisaere, Clariel f...

The tyranny of the gods is absolute, and they are capricious, malevolent and almost all-powerful, playing cruel games with the fates of mortals for their own ends . . .A vibrant and powerful epic set against an alternate Bronze Age, this tale of gods, men and monsters, conspiracy and war, is a rich, compelling and original read from a master of the historical and fantasy genres. The people caught up in toils of the gods are merely trying to survive. Victims of vicious whims, trappe...

"A complex tale of war, politics, and lust for power." —The GuardianWar built the Kisian Empire. War will tear it down.Seventeen years after rebels stormed the streets, factions divide Kisia. Only the firm hand of the god-emperor holds the empire together. But when an unexpected betrayal destroys a tense alliance with neighboring Chiltae, all that has been won comes crashing down.In Kisia, Princess Miko Ts'ai is a ...

The world of Twilight turns in the darkness, illuminated by the ethereal glow of the god-planet, Kerberos. This is a world of heroes and monsters, in which four unique individuals stand against the end of everything.One such man is Lucius Kane, a rogue born into thievery when his family is destroyed by war. On the hard streets of Turnitia, ruled over by a fearsome army and a corrupt priesthood, Lucius learns of his terrifying legacy. Lucius is a Shadowmage, a power...

Before the Brothers’ War. Before the five colors of magic. Before history itself, the plane of Dominaria was ruled by the Thran. They built machines and artifacts, the likes of which have never since been seen. But amid this civilization, a shadow took root, one that would stretch its arms across space and time. The hideous evil of Phyrexia was born.

In this masterful sword-and-sorcery epic, "Duncan has created strong and moving characters . . . and a world as rich and layered as our own" (Iceberg Ink).For fifteen years, the truce has held. Swordsmen of the Tryst of Casr have kept the peace and extended the rule of law over half the world, but now sorcerers have started killing swordsmen again, and swordsmen traitors are aiding them. Shonsu—who was Wallie Smith before he became a swordsman of the seventh rank a...