The Drums Of Chaos

CAN A HANDFUL OF HEROES STOP AN APOCALYPSE CENTURIES IN THE MAKING? Escaped gladiator-slave Simon of Gitta returns to Judea — during the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth — on a mission to avenge the deaths of his parents, seeking revenge in blood against the Roman officials who committed the murders and sold Simon into slavery. But as Simon travels the Holy Lands with his mentor Dositheus and their students Menander and llione, they gradually become entangled in a complex occult plot designed to call down a monstrous alien entity to herald a new aeon on Earth. The mysterious time traveler John Taggart (from Tierney's The Winds of Zarr) also becomes involved with Simon as their separate quests converge toward a common goal of saving all life on Earth from extinction. But can a handful of travelers really thwart a covert scheme backed by the power of the Roman Empire? As the apocalyptic supernatural events slowly unfold, Simon and his allies are in a race against time to prevent the devastation of the world. Using mystery cults and early Christian Gnosticism as his vehicle, with meticulously researched Roman history and Biblical scholarship, this is author Richard Tierney’s magnum opus: an epic Lovecraftian alternate history dark fantasy novel that features Tierney's most famous characters, Simon of Gitta and John Taggart. This novel will appeal to fans of historical fantasy and sword & sorcery fiction in the vein of Robert E. Howard, and the elements of cosmic horror and the Cthulhu Mythos will satisfy many fans of H.P. Lovecraft.

The author of the best-selling Diadem series presents the first novel in a series involving two worlds that magically conjoin once in each a generation and the good and evil wizards who move between them. Reprint.

The Drums of Chaos thunder to a shattering crescendo. . . . The two worlds of Glandair and Iomard move magically together once every generation, allowing those with special powers to Walk between the worlds. This is a dangerous time when the worlds can be destroyed . . . or renewed. On Iomard, Cymel's father has been murdered by the images, and she has been trapped in the body of a white bird. Her other-world companion, Breith, has crossed from Glandair to rescue her. Lyanz, the only one who can save his world from the coming chaos, is sequestered far away. But if he is to be of any use in the upcoming conflict, he must leave his safe haven behind. Bestselling author Jo Clayton died before she could complete her masterwork, the Drums of Chaos series. Her friend and protégé, Kevin Andrew Murphy, a successful author himself, has worked closely with the outline and early chapters she completed. The result is a satisfying conclusion to this irresistible tale.

In this vivid ethnography of social movements in the barrios, or poor shantytowns, of Caracas, Sujatha Fernandes reveals a significant dimension of political life in Venezuela since President Hugo Chávez was elected. Fernandes traces the histories of the barrios, from the guerrilla insurgency, movements against displacement, and cultural resistance of the 1960s and 1970s, through the debt crisis of the early 1980s and the neoliberal reforms that followed, to the Chávez period. She weaves barrio residents’ life stories into her account of movements for social and economic justice. Who Can Stop the Drums? demonstrates that the transformations under way in Venezuela are shaped by negotiations between the Chávez government and social movements with their own forms of historical memory, local organization, and consciousness. Fernandes portrays everyday life and politics in the shantytowns of Caracas through accounts of community-based radio, barrio assemblies, and popular fiestas, and the many interviews she conducted with activists and government officials. Most of the barrio activists she presents are Chávez supporters. They see the leftist president as someone who understands their precarious lives and has made important changes to the state system to redistribute resources. Yet they must balance receiving state resources, which are necessary to fund their community-based projects, with their desire to retain a sense of agency. Fernandes locates the struggles of the urban poor within Venezuela’s transition from neoliberalism to what she calls “post-neoliberalism.” She contends that in contemporary Venezuela we find a hybrid state; while Chávez is actively challenging neoliberalism, the state remains subject to the constraints and logics of global capital.

A REBEL AGAINST ROME Simon of Gitta, an escaped slave turned magician, roves the Roman Empire battling dark magic and demons, all the while pursued by Caesar’s soldiers. Join Simon as he flees across the ancient world evading cultists and Legionaries, outwitting sorcerers and Centurions, and fighting gladiators and gods, even the deities of the Cthulhu Mythos. Yet all these foes cannot prepare him for his greatest challenge: the pursuit of his lost soul-mate Helen, a love so deep even death can’t stand in its way for long. These stories were one of the inspirations for the Cthulhu Invictus campaign for the Call of Cthulhu role playing game by Chaosium. Enjoy sixteen stories combining superbly researched historical fiction with sword & sorcery and Lovecraftian horror, including: The Sword of Spartacus The Fire of Mazda The Seed of the Star-God The Blade of the Slayer The Throne of Achamoth The Emerald Tablet The Soul of Kephri The Ring of Set The Worm of Urakhu The Curse of the Crocodile The Treasure of Horemkhu The Secret of Nephren-Ka The Scroll of Thoth The Dragons of Mons Fractus The Wedding of Sheila-Na-Gog The Pillars of Melkarth Vengence Quest (poetry)

"Haitian carnival offers a lens into popular power and politics. Political demonstrations in Haiti often manifest as musical performances. Studying carnival and political protest side by side brings insight to the musical engagement that ordinary citizens and celebrity musicians often cultivate and revere in contemporary Haiti. This book explores how the self-declared president of konpa Sweet Micky (Michel Martelly) rose to the nation's highest office while methodically crafting a political product inherently entangled with his musical product. It offers deep historical perspective on the characteristics of carnivalesque verbal play-and the performative skillset of the artist (Sweet Micky) who dominated carnival for more than a decade-including vulgarities and polemics. It moreover demonstrates that the practice of leveraging the carnivalesque for expedient political function has precedence in Haiti's history. Yet there has been profound resistance to this brand of politics led by many other high-profile artists, including Matyas and Jòj, Brothers Posse, Boukman Eksperyans, and RAM. These groups have each released popular carnival songs that have contributed to the public's discussions on what civic participation and citizenship in Haiti can and should be. Author Rebecca Dirksen presents an in-depth consideration of politically and socially engaged music and what these expressions mean for the Haitian population in the face of challenging political and economic circumstances. After the Dance, the Drums Are Heavy centers the voices of Haitian musicians and regular citizens by extensively sharing interviews and detailed analyses of musical performance in the context of contemporary events well beyond the musical realm"--

instruments/drums

On Friday the 13th of October, 1307, Sir William St. Clair faces the end of the Order. Philip IV has arrested every Templar, seized the Order's assets, and burnt their Grand Master at the stake. But the Temple secrets must continue to be protected; so as their world falls apart, a few brave men undertake the dangerous task of smuggling the sacred treasure out from under the nose of a vengeful king. St. Clair flees to Scotland, where he leads the surviving Templars as they train in secrecy for a return to France. But St. Clair has grown disillusioned with the old Templar ways, and after taking his men into battle one last time as Temple Knights, he leads the survivors away in search of another legend, the fabled land that lies beyond the Western Ocean. Merica.