Devil In The Castle

We often think of demons appearing only in extravagant and extraordinary manifestations or working only through "bad" people. But the truth is more frightening than that. Most demonic activity takes place undetected, under the radar, and can even be hidden in our own prayer lives and in the churches where we attend Mass. Subtlety, illusion, and deceit are the preferred tactics of Satan's army of fallen angels, and they are waging an invisible battle for souls -- right now -- within and around us all. With St. Teresa of Avila's masterpiece The Interior Castle as his guide, bestselling author Dan Burke takes you on an illuminating journey through the seven levels of spiritual progress, explaining what God is accomplishing within your soul at each stage, as well as the finely tailored demonic strategies applied to throw you off your path. You'll learn how the devil is as active in your prayer life as you are, and how the saints were able to counter Satan as he adapted his schemes to correspond with where they were on their spiritual journeys. By discovering the myriad challenges St. Teresa faced and the remedies she employed to advance the spiritual progress of her soul, you'll know precisely what to expect as you progress in your current state to your final spiritual destination. You'll also learn: The marks of authentic contemplative encounter with God Why God uses dryness in prayer to advance the progress of our souls How to know if you're still in the "Purgative Way" How desolation can work for the good of the soul Why it's dangerous to assume that your decisions are correct if you feel at peace How to fight distraction in prayer The 11 ways to test the authenticity of charismatic gifts

Robert E. Howard's vengeance-obsessed Puritan begins his supernatural adventures in the haunted Black Forest of Germany in this adaptation of Howard's "The Castle of the Devil." When Solomon Kane stumbles upon the body of a boy hanged from a rickety gallows, he goes after the man responsible—a baron feared by the peasants for miles around. Something far worse than the devilish baron and the terrible, intelligent wolf that prowls the woods lies hidden in the ruined monastery beneath the baron's castle, where a devil-worshiping priest died in chains centuries ago. • This team's debut Kane story is available for free at myspace.com/darkhorsepresents. • "Solomon Kane is one of the toughest Robert E. Howard heroes to adapt to the comics page, but Scott Allie and Mario Guevara have done a stunning job. Unsettling, moody and eerily beautiful, their Kane is absolutely worthy of his creator."—Kurt Busiek • Collects the Solomon Kane five-issue miniseries.

Englishwoman, Grace Ellington, has made a home in Scotland, but to escape from the meddling people around her who seem to think she needs to wed right away—because women need saving, right? —she volunteers to journey north to aid a friend in childbirth. Keir MacKinnon, the younger brother of the MacKinnon clan chief, has been raised to strike fear in people, on and off the battlefield. Trained to uphold MacKinnon law, he has hardened into a lethal warrior. Caught in a Highland blizzard with the feisty Grace, Keir realizes the beautiful woman who saved him can also save his nephew’s life. Sparks fly when he takes her against her will to his home, and Grace’s courage is put to the ultimate test. Is Keir MacKinnon the passionate, kind man she saved in the Highland blizzard, or is he truly the cruel executioner who seeks to solve all issues by the sword? Each book in the Highland Isles series is STANDALONE: * The Beast of Aros Castle * The Rogue of Islay Isle * The Wolf of Kisimul Castle * The Devil of Dunakin Castle

In this unusual twist on the Faust legend, a man makes a deal with a supernatural visitor, surrendering his soul to alleviate the suffering of others. In his quiet home in rural Vermont, a man named Taft wonders what’s missing from his life. He’s at a loss until a strange voice startles him. A stranger has seemingly appeared out of nowhere: well-dressed and smooth-talking, this man offers Taft the chance to have anything he’s ever wanted―for a price. So begins The Devil in the Valley, the latest novel from critically acclaimed author Castle Freeman, Jr, a tale of temptation and greed that examines what we’re willing to trade to obtain the things we most desire. Exploring the supernatural while staying rooted deeply in our world, The Devil in the Valley is a powerful novel from a master at his craft. “Castle Freeman, Jr. conjures an intricate tete-a-tete with the devil into a Vermont home-brew of brimstone and beneficence. Fast-paced, compulsive, The Devil in the Valley leaves you wanting more.” —Gregory Maguire, bestselling author of Wicked and After Alice “Castle Freeman has somehow infused The Devil in the Valley with a mysterious energy that keeps a reader eagerly turning pages while desperately hoping the book will go on and on. This is fine and deeply enjoyable writing.” —David Huddle, author of The Faulkes Chronicle

Security consultant Peter Avakian's job is to keep people safe, and that's not always easy. Even his Special Forces training couldn't have prepared him for a routine business proposal that was anything but. By simply acknowledging the offer, Avakian becomes snarled in a complex plot to stage a political coup in central Africa. With no way out, he turns to the CIA—and is forced to become their mole inside the conspiracy. Pulled into a shadow world of nations battling over the world's oil supply, drug dealers financing revolutions, and gunrunners on sale to the highest bidder, it's all Avakian can do to stay alive. And that may depend less on his lethal skills than on two women: a CIA agent and a South African reporter after a story. Will they save him, or will they betray him? It's anyone's guess, especially his.

Satan is always at work breeding sadness and anxiety while providing obstacles that prevent souls from making spiritual progress. In this concise yet powerful book, author Dan Burke presents the venerable, time-tested wisdom of Catholic mystics to help you understand the influence of the Enemy on your mind and heart, and the tactics you need to combat him. With St. Ignatius as his guide, Burke presents here an indispensable, authoritative manual for engaging in daily battle with the Adversary—combat that is both inevitable and winnable. Burke will help you recognize the ebbs and flows of consolation and desolation, and distinguish between the voices of God and of Satan. Best of all, you'll come to see the spiritual life not as a science to be learned, but as an intuitive art to be practiced as you move with increasing success from habitual sin to sanctity. The battle for our souls is unavoidable. The saints won theirs by learning how to be spiritual warrio

Steeped in the folklore of Eastern Europe, and set in the shadow of Nazi darkness erupting just beyond the Czech border, this bone-chilling, richly imagined novel is propulsively entertaining, and impossible to put down. Czechoslovakia, 1935: Viktor Kosárek, a newly trained psychiatrist who studied under Carl Jung, arrives at the infamous Hrad Orlu Asylum for the Criminally Insane. The facility is located in a medieval mountaintop castle surrounded by forests, on a site that is well known for concealing dark secrets going back many centuries. The asylum houses six inmates--the country's most treacherous killers--known to the terrified public as the Devil's Six. Viktor intends to use a new medical technique to prove that these patients share a common archetype of evil, a phenomenon he calls The Devil Aspect. Yet as he begins to learn the stunning secrets of these patients, he must face the unnerving possibility that these six may share a darker truth. Meanwhile, in Prague, fear grips the city as a phantom serial killer emerges in the dark alleys. Police investigator Lukas Smolak, desperate to locate the culprit (a copycat of Jack the Ripper), turns to Viktor and the doctors at Hrad Orlu for their expertise with the psychotic criminal mind. And Viktor finds himself wrapped up in a case more terrifying than he could have ever imagined.