Disquiet Gods

The sixth novel of the galaxy-spanning Sun Eater series merges the best of space opera and epic fantasy, as Hadrian Marlowe continues down a path that can only end in fire. The end is nigh. It has been nearly two hundred years since Hadrian Marlowe assaulted the person of the Emperor and walked away from war. From his Empire. His duty. From the will and service of the eldritch being known only as the Quiet. The galaxy lies in the grip of a terrible plague, and worse, the Cielcin have overrun the realms of men. A messenger has come to Jadd, bearing a summons from the Sollan Emperor for the one-time hero. A summons, a pardon, and a plea. HAPSIS, the Emperor’s secret first-contact intelligence organization, has located one of the dreadful Watchers, the immense, powerful beings worshipped by the Pale Cielcin. Called out of retirement and exile, the old hero—accompanied by his daughter, Cassandra—must race across the galaxy and against time to accomplish one last, impossible task: To kill a god.

The sixth novel of the galaxy-spanning Sun Eater series merges the best of space opera and epic fantasy, as Hadrian Marlowe continues down a path that can only end in fire. The end is nigh. It has been nearly two hundred years since Hadrian Marlowe assaulted the person of the Emperor and walked away from war. From his Empire. His duty. From the will and service of the eldritch being known only as the Quiet. The galaxy lies in the grip of a terrible plague, and worse, the Cielcin have overrun the realms of men. A messenger has come to Jadd, bearing a summons from the Sollan Emperor for the one-time hero. A summons, a pardon, and a plea. HAPSIS, the Emperor’s secret first-contact intelligence organization, has located one of the dreadful Watchers, the immense, powerful beings worshipped by the Pale Cielcin. Called out of retirement and exile, the old hero—accompanied by his daughter, Cassandra—must race across the galaxy and against time to accomplish one last, impossible task: To kill a god.

The fifth novel of the galaxy-spanning Sun Eater series merges the best of space opera and epic fantasy, as Hadrian Marlowe continues down a path that can only end in fire. The galaxy is burning. With the Cielcin united under one banner, the Sollan Empire stands alone after the betrayal of the Commonwealth. The Prophet-King of the Cielcin has sent its armies to burn the worlds of men, and worse, there are rumors...whispers that Hadrian Marlowe is dead, killed in the fighting. But it is not so. Hadrian survived with the help of the witch, Valka, and together they escaped the net of the enemy having learned a terrible truth: the gods that the Cielcin worship are real and will not rest until the universe is dark and cold. What is more, the Emperor himself is in danger. The Prophet-King has learned to track his movements as he travels along the borders of Imperial space. Now the Cielcin legions are closing in, their swords poised to strike off the head of all mankind.

SHRI RAMACHARITAMANASA of Tulasidasa is the single most popular book of the Hindus, which, for over four centuries, has greatly appealed equally to the rich and the poor, the educated and the illiterate, the old and the young, and the scholar and the common man. Keeping in mind people`s ever-increasing quest for the epic, this unique edition of the Ramacharitamanasa with verse to verse Hindi and English translation along with Tulasidasa`s original text has been prepared. The translation rendered by an accomplished scholar maintains the intrinsic richness of the original. Special care has been taken for making it useful to the Indian brethren living abroad to whom the dialect of Tulasidasa`s original may be somewhat incomprehensible. There has been a long-standing demand from the vast Indian community settled abroad for a standard and authentic edition of the Ramacharitamanasa. The present edition has been designed to meet their requirement by using the most modern printing and processing techniques to make it a work of international standard. A speical feature of this edition is the inclusion of Lavakushakanda, Shri Hanumanchalisa and Shri Ramashalaka Prashnavali. The mode of its recitation is given as a separate appendix. Adding to its uniqueness is the inclusion of important section containing Indian, European and American scholars` criticisms on Tulasidasa`s Ramacharitamanasa. A glossary of important proper nouns and epithets is given at the end.

A thousand years have passed since the Sunspear, an ancient weapon forged by the Gods, was lost to the sight of men in the last great battle of the Raven Wars. Now, the Dark God again reaches out from the Land of Eternal shadow to touch the world with his evil. The Goddess Danu gives Ciaran, a young Celtae warrior powerful in the Psi, the vast psionic power of the subconscious mind, the quest of finding the Sunspear. If he fails, the Dark Gods Long Night will fall over the world forever. The quest leads him ever deeper into the Forbidden Lands, perilous realm of the Shadow, where he is pursued by the Dark Gods evil Ring Lords, who also search for the Sunspear. The Ring Lords, however, are not Ciarns only worry. The Dark God sends one of his First Born, a Shadhul mind-slayer, into the world to capture him and bring him to the Stone of Tears where he will either accept the Dark God as his Master or be cast into the Well of Souls. As he strives to elude the Shadow Lords hunters, Ciarn must confront his forbidden love of Danus tiny priestess, RILLSONG. He is further assailed with guilt over his infatuation with the beautiful Shadow Druidess, ISNGEL who captures his beloved foster sister KIARA and gives her to the Ring Lords. In the Valley of the Gods, he rescues Isngel and her half-Elven Ahati warriors from the deadly, Halfsouled Draugr. Joining forces, they fight their way through hordes of the near-immortal beings to reach the lost city of Gorias where Ciarn claims the Sunspear. Using the ancient weapons god-like power, he destroys the Ring Lords army that pursued him to Gorias, killing thousands of warriors, and laughing as their dying screams fill his ears. Only then does he realize that the greatest evil he has to overcome is not the Dark God, but the darkness that dwells within him. He must both learn to use the enormous power of the Sunspear wisely and keep his Darksoul at bay. If it gains control, he will become a creature of shadow, a Soultaken.

Summerbird Asii is an inept young seer, who has spent her life hiding her fractured magic from everyone around her. In a land where laws strictly prohibit magic, she hands out dull, common-sense and useless futures—and she remains safe enough from jail or even execution. Just when she agrees to marry and settle even further into her mundane life, she receives a visitor who definitely doesn’t belong in her cottage. A tiny griffin with impertinent questions. Is this--a tiny cottage and deceiving old women--all that she really wants out of life? He needs a wee favor and offers a trade. Summerbird has to wheedle answers from the evasive creature and what she hears doesn't make her feel anything but incredulous. He needs her help rescuing several highborn Fey whose magic has been compromised by an evil mage. Oh, and who might not want anyone interfering with his plans. But the griffin assures her that she will have plenty of assistants, once she rescues them! She hesitates, until the griffin makes an irresistible offer--would she like to learn her magic? Follow Summerbird as she finally finds herself in Emythor, the magical lands of her birth, as she struggles to learn who—and what—she really is. She has been lured her into a world created by an omnipotent entity who is in danger and has disappeared. Where beautiful inhabitants prove that beauty can be wicked or noble and it can be impossible to know which is which. Emythor is a land that survives by taking magic from its people. Are they willing to give the land the ultimate in magic—their very lives?