Black Omens

Ebon envisioned being a great warrior like his father, Luc Shattar, the hero of the Battle of Halgrain and the greatest swordsman in the history of Trist. Ebon is young, highly trained in a military academy, and confident as only the young and inexperienced can be ? until the fates of war intervene to challenge him both as a warrior and a man The old enemy, Vutra, has been threatening to take up arms, so the armies of Trist gather to defend their homeland. Ebon and his three closest friends, Caliel, Mendel, and Gabriel, excited about the coming war, feel ready to fulfill their imagined destinies. They cannot begin to conceive how their lives will be affected by unforeseen events and trials, and the roles they will play as Heirs of Discord, heirs of a war started before they were born. Caught up in events far beyond the borders of his ?world,? Ebon must also face shocking secrets of his heritage hidden in mysterious clues ? the greatest being the mystical prophecy known as Black Omens. Black Omens: Book 2 of ?Heirs of Discord? follows events of the first book A Blade of Dark Ebony. The next book in the series is White Locks

The classic collaboration from the internationally bestselling authors Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, soon to be an original series starring Michael Sheen and David Tennant. ?Season 2 of Good Omens coming soon! “Good Omens . . . is something like what would have happened if Thomas Pynchon, Tom Robbins and Don DeLillo had collaborated. Lots of literary inventiveness in the plotting and chunks of very good writing and characterization. It’s a wow. It would make one hell of a movie. Or a heavenly one. Take your pick.” —Washington Post According to The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (the world's only completely accurate book of prophecies, written in 1655, before she exploded), the world will end on a Saturday. Next Saturday, in fact. Just before dinner. So the armies of Good and Evil are amassing, Atlantis is rising, frogs are falling, tempers are flaring. Everything appears to be going according to Divine Plan. Except a somewhat fussy angel and a fast-living demon—both of whom have lived amongst Earth's mortals since The Beginning and have grown rather fond of the lifestyle—are not actually looking forward to the coming Rapture. And someone seems to have misplaced the Antichrist . . .

This third fascicle of Babylonian Planetary Omens contains the edition of all cuneiform texts dealing with the planet Venus known to us. Most of these tablets are kept in the British Museum; the large number of unpublished texts were transliterated and the previously published texts were checked and collated from the originals. The texts are accompanied by translations, and each group of texts is commented upon by David Pingree from the point of view of the text history and astronomical significance. A general introduction, also by David Pingree, analyzes the descriptions of Venus that occur in the texts in terms of astronomical phenomena. Indices are included to facilitate the study of this large corpus.

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

This third fascicle of Babylonian Planetary Omens contains the edition of all cuneiform texts dealing with the planet Venus known to us. Most of these tablets are kept in the British Museum; the large number of unpublished texts were transliterated and the previously published texts were checked and collated from the originals. The texts are accompanied by translations, and each group of texts is commented upon by David Pingree from the point of view of the text history and astronomical significance. A general introduction, also by David Pingree, analyzes the descriptions of Venus that occur in the texts in terms of astronomical phenomena. Indices are included to facilitate the study of this large corpus.

A Blade of Dark Ebony tells the story of Ebon, who at the age of 20, is forced to face the reality of the world in which he lives, a world that can be capricious, but can also offer exciting rewards. Supported by key friends (Mendel, Gabriel and Caliel, the love of his life) he leaves the sheltered life of his youth to search for his real identity. Is he just like the father who raised him, or is he someone quite different? One thing he knows: the man who raised him as a father was one of the most skilled swordsmen of his day and he will have to work long and hard to follow in his footsteps. Impatient to gain glory, he needs to learn patience and commitment and come to understand that the training of the mind is every bit as important as the training of the body.As the story develops, the thoughts and ideals of his youth are severely challenged and he must decide the path he will follow. Even as his friends follow their planned path to glory through the army, Ebon is torn from their tight-knit fellowship and becomes a part of a mercenary army known as the Black Knights led by Arthur Pandell. Arthur, himself a swordsman of growing legend, decides to mentor Ebon. Enrolling Ebon in the intensive training program of mind and body he will need to succeed, Arthur unwittingly prepares Ebon to enter the first great tournament of the best warriors in the country. To gain glory Ebon must not only overcome the intrigue of his opponents, but the temptation to yield the very ideals of his young life. The pressure to win only intensifies when Ebon learns that only by winning can he help his beloved Caliel.

Something wicked this way comes... Twin sisters, Mercy and Hunter are witches, direct descendants of the Goode family, the founders of their town. After the murder of their mother at the hands of a foul demon, they have become the protectors of the Gates to different underworlds--ancient portals between their world and realms where mythology rules and the darkest of creatures exist. Grief has taken a terrible toll on the twins. Rather than bringing them together, their sadness has torn them apart, driving Mercy to attempt to save the crumbling Gates without her twin and Hunter into the arms of a dangerous goddess. While Mercy looks for aid from Khenti, Guardian of the Egyptian Underworld, Hunter begins to realize the goddess she’s allied with is more monster than deity. She needs her sister’s help, but Mercy is beyond her reach on an adventure that could cost them everything, including their world.