Prince Manfred and his mentor and bodyguard, the deadly warrior Erik, survived dangers and enemies both natural and supernatural, and if they thought that their new mission was going to be anything but more of the same, they soon gave up on that hope. Returning from Jerusalem, they and their escort of knights of the Holy Trinity are escorting an envoy of II Khan Mongol to the lands of the Golden Horde-between the Black Sea and the Carpathians, which happen to be eastern bastion against their old enemies, the demon Chernobog and his possessed puppet, the Jangellion.
Unfortunately, what began as a diplomatic mission leads to Manfred and his knights being caught up in an inter-clan civil war, rescuing a fugitive woman and her injured brother, and becoming involved in the problems of Prince Vlad, Duke of Valahia, who has been held as a hostage by King Emeric of Hungary until freed by Countess Elizabeth Batholdy to use as bait to capture a group of nonhumans. Instead, the wolflike nonhumans, who masquerade as gypsies, free Prince Vlad, and help him to return to his homeland to raise revolt against Hungary and to renew age-old magics.
Manfred and Erik are forced into an alliance of convenience between the Golden Horde and the ancient magical forces of Valahia, as directed by the troubled Vlad. The magic calls for blood and Vlad is deathly afraid of it—and at the same time, is irresistibly drawn toward it . . .
The world of the past eventually died in the conflagration toward which it had been doggedly heading. A more fragmented and diversified order has emerged from the ruins and . technology has reappeared to a greater or lesser degree in some places and not at all in others.
Unique among them is the nation-state of Sofi, with an exceptional population that has rediscovered advanced science. However, as the old patterns that led to ruin before begin to reassert themselves across the rest of the world, a scientific-political movement within Sofi embarks on a years-long project to build a generation starship that will enable them to create their own world elsewhere.
The circumstances and thinking of future generations growing up in the totally unknown situation of a space environment cannot be known. Accordingly, the mission will include different groups of idealists, reformers, misfits, and dissidents who are not satisfied with the world-in-miniature that constitutes the original mother ship, to go out and build whatever they want. Hence, what arrives at the distant star generations hence will be a flotilla of variously run city states, frontier towns, religious monasteries, pleasure resorts, urban crushes, rural spreads, academic retreats, and who-knows what else.
The trouble began, of course, when all the old patterns that they thought they were getting away from started reappearing . . .
In the wake of the catastrophic invasion that has leveled the Stoneholding, the last bastion of order in the world of Ahn Norvys, Kalaquinn Wright Pursues the mission entrusted to him. Freshly invested as High Bard,
he sets forth across lands that lie under a dark cloud of uncertainty and strife, charged with the task of finding the lost Prince Starigan. This is but the first step in rekindling the Sacred Fire and restoring peace to a broken world.
The task, however, will not be an easy one, for the Talamadh, the golden harp that binds together heaven and earth in sacred harmony, remains in the clutches of the tyrant Ferabek. After securing safe haven for the remnant folk of his clanholding, Kal and his companions venture into the lowlands of Arvon, a place of looming danger. Despite the adversities of a world sinking into the world sinking into the twilight of darkness and chaos, the young Holdsman keeps faith and its sustained by the loyalty of friends, the resources he begins to discover in himself, and unwavering hope. In his quest for the lost prince, moreover, Kal learns that royalty is to be found in unexpected quarters.
By fate's caprice, Kal falls prey to his enemies. In the trial that befalls him, his mettle is tested, and he draws upon an inner strength that he has never known before. He also discovers that the Talamadh, with which Ardiel, once High King of Arvon, inaugurated the Great Harmony, though weak and faltering, still retains a vestige of its ancient potency. But will it be enough to stem the tide of chaos that floods over
the Darkling Fields of Arvon?
Perfidious Plots, Courageous Resolve—and, of course, Starships Blown to Smithereens!
The Solarian League Navy has been the premier navy of the galaxy for centuries. Indeed, no one can remember a time when it hasn't been acknowledged as the most powerful fleet in existence.
Until now, that is.
A conference to end the terrible war between the Peeps of Haven and the Manticorean Star Kingdom is slated. Peace is finally within reach.
Yeah, right.
Not with the slaver conspiracy that calls itself Manpower, Inc. pulling intergalactic strings. The plan To plunge the Star Kingdom into a two-front war with Peeps and Sollies—a process calculated to blast Honor Harrington's home system to smoking ruin!
Assassination's afoot. And out on the galactic frontier known as the Verge, big trouble boils over as Solarian League arrogance butts up against the steely resolve of Harrington protégé Michelle Henke, aka Admiral Gold Peak.
Too bad for the Sollies. For Harrington's officers have a habit of coming through in the clutch and finding a way to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. But most of all—whatever the odds—they never, ever give up the fight!
Shadow of Saganami sequel—and the latest entry in David Weber's astoundingly adventurous, phenomenally popular, and multiply USA Today and New York Times best-selling "Honor Harrington" saga!
"Following in the best tradition of C.S. Forester, Patrick O'Brian and Robert A Heinlein! These hugely entertaining and clever adventures are the very epitome of space opera." —Publishers Weekly.
"Weber's descriptions of space combat remain magnificent." —Science Fiction Weekly.
It was supposed to be a simple test flight, one that pilot Ariane Austin was on only as a last-ditch backup; intelligent, superhumanly fast automation would handle the test activation and flight of humanity's first faster-than-light vessel. But when the Sandrisson Drive activated, every automated system crashed, the nuclear reactor itself shut down, and only the reflexes and training of a racing pilot saved the test vessel Holy Grail from crashing into the impossible wall that had appeared before them, a wall which is just part of a monstrous enclosure surrounding a space twenty thousand kilometers across. With all artificial intelligences inert and their reactor dead, they had to find some other source of power to reactivate the Sandrisson Drive and—hopefully—take them home.
And that was only the beginning. As Ariane, Dr. Simon Sandrisson, darkly enigmatic power engineer Marc C. DuQuesne, and the rest of the Holy Grail's crew explore the immense artifact, they discover that they are not alone; they have entered a place the alien inhabitants call "The Arena," and there is no way out without joining one of the alien factions . . . or winning recognition as a faction in their own right, playing by the Arena's rules—and by the Arena's rules, one failed challenge could mean death or worse—perhaps for the entire human race. Surrounded by alien factions, each with its own secret plans and motivations, some wielding powers so strange as to be magical, Ariane sets out to beat the Arena at its own game. With DuQuesne's strategies, Sandrisson's genius, and her own unyielding determination, she's going to bring the Holy Grail home—even if she has to beat every faction in the Arena to do it!
Wonder where to dive into Heinlein's justly famous adventure novels This is the place! The Stone clan is off to the asteroid belt to educate their brood and find a new life away from stuffy, bureaucratic Lunar City. But, as a great man once said, "There Isn't Any Such Thing As a Free Lunch." The Stones know that making a living in deep space and facing the dangers of exploration are the pioneer's great challenge—and the only path to a hopeful tomorrow for humankind!
"Everything is theoretically impossible, until it is done. One could write a history of science in reverse by assembling the solemn pronouncements of highest authority about what could not be done and could never happen." —Robert A. Heinlein, from The Rolling Stones.