The Firelings

The Firelings, who live precariously on the edge of the Volcano Belcher, must offer the volcano a sacrificial victim or escape through the Secret Way of the Goat.

This volume investigates energy as a shaping force in Russian and Soviet literature, visual culture, and social practice. Chronologically arranged chapters explain how nineteenth-century ideas about energy informed realist novels and paintings; how the poetics of energy defined pre-Revolutionary and Stalinist utopianism; and how fossil fuels, electricity, and nuclear fission generated distinct aesthetic features in Imperial Russian, Soviet, and post-Soviet literature, cinema, and landscape. The volume’s concentration on Russia responds to a clear need to understand the role the country plays in social, political, and economic processes endangering life on Earth today. The cultural dimension of Russia’s efforts at energy dominance deserves increased scholarly attention not only in its own right, but also because it directly affects global energy policy. As the contributors to this volume argue, the nationally inflected cultural myths that underlie human engagements with energy have been highly consequential in the Anthropocene.

“A postmodern literary masterpiece.” –The Times Literary Supplement Two hundred years after civilization ended in an event known as the Blast, Benedikt isn’t one to complain. He’s got a job—transcribing old books and presenting them as the words of the great new leader, Fyodor Kuzmich, Glorybe—and though he doesn’t enjoy the privileged status of a Murza, at least he’s not a serf or a half-human four-legged Degenerator harnessed to a troika. He has a house, too, with enough mice to cook up a tasty meal, and he’s happily free of mutations: no extra fingers, no gills, no cockscombs sprouting from his eyelids. And he’s managed—at least so far—to steer clear of the ever-vigilant Saniturions, who track down anyone who manifests the slightest sign of Freethinking, and the legendary screeching Slynx that waits in the wilderness beyond. Tatyana Tolstaya’s The Slynx reimagines dystopian fantasy as a wild, horripilating amusement park ride. Poised between Nabokov’s Pale Fire and Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange, The Slynx is a brilliantly inventive and shimmeringly ambiguous work of art: an account of a degraded world that is full of echoes of the sublime literature of Russia’s past; a grinning portrait of human inhumanity; a tribute to art in both its sovereignty and its helplessness; a vision of the past as the future in which the future is now.

In an age when the mighty Forces of Nature rule, the eternal battle between Fire and Water flares into war. The evil Fire, fueled by ancient jealousies and a lust for power, commits the ultimate treachery - the theft of the Waterglobe. Equilibrium between the Forces is lost, leaving a drought-plagued world that only one brave human can restore. Robert Ground, longing for adventure, lives in a peaceful, sleepy little village. One day, Fire appears, laying to waste everything Robert has ever known. Determined to find out why he has become a target of the Prime Evil, Robert begins a journey to uncover his family’s secrets, and soon discovers a link between his past and the elemental battle waging around him. Robert is joined by the lovely, secretive Marian as they forge an unlikely partnership. Unknown to Robert, Marian is a fireling, and Fire’s cruelest, most loyal apprentice. As Marian pursues her own dark mission, two others join the travelers: Gider, the vicious, coarse, fermad, and Shine, the brave and noble rainsteed. Reaching the Cloud Realm, Robert is tasked with an impossible mission, one that will test him beyond the limits of his endurance. The four adventurers navigate the perilous realms of the Forces, gathering powerful weapons for the final battle with Fire. Each is forever altered, as they must choose between self-sacrifice and treachery. Ultimately, Robert faces Fire and finally learns why he is destined to fight the ultimate evil...

Kate Elliott's The Crossroads series discounted ebundle includes: Spirit Gate, Shadow Gate, Traitors' Gate In the land of the Hundred, peace has been hardwon--but a new army, led by a mysterious band of armed and soul-bonded corps that swoop across the skies, slowly casting a shadow over the world. Realizing they must avert the coming invasion, a large cast of engaging characters rise up to defend their people and regions against an epic landscape. With masterful storytelling, uniquely mythic characters and a compelling plot, Elliott captivates readers in The Crossroads series. Spirit Gate is the saga of a young woman, Mai, who, when she marries the mysterious Captain Anji, begins an adventure that will take her across distant lands, risking life and limb for a justice she can only imagine, fighting a fanatical army that is determined to destroy all who stand in the way of a brutal campaign of conquest. Shadow Gate: The source of corruption of the Guardians is still a mystery to the mortals who fight to withstand the forces that have turned against them. And when three new Guardians emerge, a struggle begins among the immortals, with nothing less at stake than the future of the land and its gods. Traitors’ Gate: The tumultuous conclusion of the epic fantasy Crossroads trilogy: A rich brew of politics, warfare, and social upheaval in a sweeping tapestry of a world in crisis, peopled with memorable characters and told with the power and pathos of a brilliant storyteller. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

When angels fall, demons take their place… The Devil is many things: beautiful, cruel, and sometimes mischievous. But above all he is cunning. Thrust into Hell against his will, Mark must learn to navigate this fantastical world – a world where demons rule over mortals, and curious little imps can be found spying in hidden nooks and crannies. Mark needs allies, but when betrayal lurks in every corner, who can you trust? One thing is for sure: there will be a reckoning, and it will decide the fate of Earth.

A light-hearted, fun, fantasy adventure. Perfect for young adults or those young at heart! An epic fantasy series with a slight sci-fi twist. Reads like a combination between Avatar: The Last Air Bender and Lord of the Rings. If you love journeys filled with magic, danger, and intergalactic travels, you’ll be enchanted with Spirit’s Entwined! It’ll take you on the adventure of a lifetime with young friends Kylie and Mory as they discover an astonishing secret about Kylie’s past, which catapults them into a thrilling future. Growing up in a world where magic is weakened, Kylie never thought there was anything special about her, until her home is attacked by forces beyond reckoning. Now, she has a long road ahead to understand who and what she is. Let’s go with her and keep her safe, because the fate of the entire universe hangs in the balance. With the twists of fate unknown to even the greatest of seers, the Spirit Master and comrades will not only have to battle creatures, dangers, and trials beyond their wildest dreams, but their own inner demons as well. Adventuring in an unknown and beautiful land filled with various sources of magic, they will take their first steps towards saving not only the worlds they know but worlds they have only just discovered, all the while finding love and forging the deepest of friendships. The stories and books they have read and dreamed about while staring into the stars cannot come close to their actual experience once they’ve begun their journey. Time will halt, as it does when its passing no longer has meaning, and strengths far beyond those of the physical sense will manifest in all who undertake this prophetic quest.

MAKING DECISIONS IS HARD WHEN THERE ARE MULTIPLE ENDINGS. With the school festival looming, Tomozaki finds himself busier than ever, his attention split between helping Kikuchi with her script, developing a comedy show with Mimimi, and wrestling with his feelings about Hinami’s instructions to find a girlfriend by the end of the year. As practice for the play begins, Kikuchi and Tomozaki decide to investigate Hinami’s past in order to help strengthen her connection with her role. In the busiest, most electric season of the school year, what emotions will the four of them have to face when the curtain rises...?