Firian Rising

Few people can create reality from imagination. Firian Kess is one of those few. When Firian’s ability earns him a coveted spot in the mysterious Tanyuin Academy, he finally has a chance to prove his worth. Despite obstacles and rivals, he stays intensely focused, determined that nothing will stop him from becoming the world’s best warrior. Kiria Arioc, the spirited heir to the throne of the war-torn Western Kingdom, has hidden abilities of her own. But even those don’t completely allay her fears that she doesn’t have what it takes to lead the nation she loves. When Firian comes to the capital to protect her, his mission takes an unexpected turn. He begins to suspect the Academy might be using them both for its own darker purposes. When the two don’t know who to trust, will they be forced to turn on each other? If you liked Red Queen or the mind-bending action of the Matrix, try this new fantasy full of intrigue, adventure, and enemies that might be closer than you think.

Set in 1920s Europe, this poignant dark academia novel sheds new light on Shakespeare’s masterpiece, finally allowing Laertes to tell his side of the story. Laertes Belleforest lives two lives: a wild, passionate one with his best friends studying Classics in Paris, and a stifling existence in the Danish court where the mercurial prince Hamlet constantly overshadows him. Now in his last year at university, Laertes must decide the kind of man he will become. But who is he, apart from the huge personalities that surround him and the secret guilt that haunts him? When tragedy rocks Denmark, Laertes’ questions are forced into focus. Like a Greek play, his story hurtles through love and wine, ghosts and revenge, toward inevitable catastrophe. Perfect for fans of If We Were Villains

Young and powerful, they finally have the chance to make peace... or war. Firian Kess, now Head of the Tanyuin Academy, sets his sights on winning over the girl he once took hostage: Kiria Arioc, Keeper of the Western Kingdom. But power always takes its toll. Firian’s better impulses wage a losing war against his desire for control. Longing for more power, he uncovers a deadly ability in the Unreal that jeopardizes his alliances and his humanity. Facing manipulation at home and war abroad, Kiria’s bold choice to work with the Tanyu, their former enemies, makes her a political target even as she fights her growing feelings for the handsome but selfish Firian. With violent enemies threatening both their reigns, they struggle to maintain the fragile peace they find with each other. Despite their efforts, darkness threatens to consume them, putting everyone they care about in mortal danger. Dark and surprising, this sequel asks how far you can go before you become the very monster you’re fighting.

Kiria Arioc and Firian Kess are enemies. At least as far as Kiria’s concerned. Ever since Firian’s Tanyuin troops ravaged the beautiful city of Brithnem, she’s been on the run, struggling with her new role as leader of a ragtag band, and tumultuous emotions over her former love. Will her resistance be enough to take back the Kingdom? Firian has a target on his back too. The man he trusted as his mentor now plays a deadly game with all their lives. Guilt-ridden and stripped of everything he cares about, Firian fears that even stopping Master Belik won’t be enough to atone for his violent sins. But, as one of the most dangerous people in the world, he has to try. Kingdoms are burning. For the ones they love, Firian and Kiria will give everything to make things right, even if it costs them their lives. Brace yourself for a jaw-dropping finale full of twists and action. Be brave. Be dangerous. It’s time to fight for the future.

Valency patterns and valency orientation have been frequent topics of research under different perspectives, often poorly connected. Diachronic studies on these topics is even less systematic than synchronic ones. The papers in this book bring together two strands of research on valency, i.e. the description of valency patterns as worked out in the Leipzig Valency Classes Project (ValPaL), and the assessment of a language's basic valency and its possible orientation. Notably, the ValPaL does not provide diachronic information concerning the valency patterns investigated: one of the aims of the book is to supplement the available data with data from historical stages of languages, in order to make it profitably exploitable for diachronic research. In addition, new research on the diachrony of basic valency and valency alternations can deepen our understanding of mechanisms of language change and of the propensity of languages or language families to exploit different constructional patterns related to transitivity.

DIVA comprehensive overview by leading scholars of Mexican rural history before, during, and after the Revolution, with an extensive chapter by Adolfo Gilly on the recent Chiapas rebellion./div

This exhaustive work in three volumes and over 1300 pages provides a thorough treatment of ultra-high temperature materials with melting points over 2500 °C. The first volume focuses on Carbon and Refractory Metals, whilst the second and third are dedicated solely to Refractory compounds and the third to Refractory Alloys and Composites respectively. Topics included are physical (crystallographic, thermodynamic, thermo physical, electrical, optical, physico-mechanical, nuclear) and chemical (solid-state diffusion, interaction with chemical elements and compounds, interaction with gases, vapours and aqueous solutions) properties of the individual physico-chemical phases of carbon (graphite/graphene), refractory metals (W, Re, Os, Ta, Mo, Nb, Ir) and compounds (oxides, nitrides, carbides, borides, silicides) with melting points in this range. It will be of interest to researchers, engineers, postgraduate, graduate and undergraduate students alike. The reader is provided with the full qualitative and quantitative assessment for the materials, which could be applied in various engineering devices and environmental conditions at ultra-high temperatures, on the basis of the latest updates in the field of physics, chemistry, materials science and engineering.

This innovative social and cultural history explores the daily lives of the lowest echelons in president Porfirio Díaz’s army through the decades leading up to the 1910 Revolution. The author shows how life in the barracks—not just combat and drill but also leisure, vice, and intimacy—reveals the basic power relations that made Mexico into a modern society. The Porfirian regime sought to control and direct violence, to impose scientific hygiene and patriotic zeal, and to build an army to rival that of the European powers. The barracks community enacted these objectives in times of war or peace, but never perfectly, and never as expected. The fault lines within the process of creating the ideal army echoed the challenges of constructing an ideal society. This insightful history of life, love, and war in turn-of-the-century Mexico sheds useful light on the troubled state of the Mexican military more than a century later.