The Secret Of The Three Cities

The esoteric Hindu traditions of Tantrism have profoundly influenced the development of Indian thought and civilization. Emerging from elements of yoga and wisdom traditions, shamanism, alchemy, eroticism, and folklore, Tantrism began to affect brahmanical Hinduism in the ninth century. Nevertheless, Tantrism and its key historical figures have been ignored by scholars. This accessible work introduces the concepts and practices of Hindu Sakta Tantrism to all those interested in Hinduism and the comparative study of religion.

The esoteric Hindu traditions of Tantrism have profoundly influenced the development of Indian thought and civilization. Emerging from elements of yoga and wisdom traditions, shamanism, alchemy, eroticism, and folklore, Tantrism began to affect brahmanical Hinduism in the ninth century. Nevertheless, Tantrism and its key historical figures have been ignored by scholars. This accessible work introduces the concepts and practices of Hindu Sakta Tantrism to all those interested in Hinduism and the comparative study of religion.

'More action and hair-raising stunts than you'll find in four Bond movies' EVENING TELEGRAPH 'Thrilling, action-packed adventure' GUARDIAN DISCOVER THIS WILDLY-ENTERTAINING, GLOBE-TROTTING ADVENTURE FROM INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER MATTHEW REILLY * * * * * What if the greatest lost cities of legend are still out there... Jack West has just won the Great Games and thrown the four legendary kingdoms into turmoil. Now these dark forces are coming after him... in ruthless fashion. With the end of all things rapidly approaching, Jack and his crew must find the Three Secret Cities - three incredible lost cities of legend. It's an impossible task by any reckoning, but Jack must do it while being hunted... * * * * * PRAISE FOR THE JACK WEST THRILLERS 'Thrilling, action-packed adventure from cover to cover' Guardian 'Nobody writes action like Matthew Reilly' Vince Flynn 'Get ready for a wild ride' Daily Telegraph 'Exciting and entertaining' Chicago Sun-Times * * * * * READERS LOVE THE JACK WEST THRILLERS 'Indiana Jones in a book . . . Immensely entertaining' 'A super duper kick ass soldier' 'A first class all-action historical thriller' 'Heart-pounding stuff' 'Enjoy the rollercoaster ride'

The tale begins over three-hundred years ago, when the Fair People—the goblins, fairies, dragons, and other fabled and fantastic creatures of a dozen lands—fled the Old World for the New, seeking haven from the ways of Man. With them came their precious jewels: diamonds, rubies, emeralds, pearls... But then the Fair People vanished, taking with them their twelve fabulous treasures. And they remained hidden until now... Across North America, these twelve treasures, over ten-thousand dollars in precious jewels, are buried. The key to finding each can be found within the twelve full color paintings and verses of The Secret. Yet The Secret is much more than that. At long last, you can learn not only the whereabouts of the Fair People's treasure, but also the modern forms and hiding places of their descendants: the Toll Trolls, Maitre D'eamons, Elf Alphas, Tupperwerewolves, Freudian Sylphs, Culture Vultures, West Ghosts and other delightful creatures in the world around us. The Secret is a field guide to them all. Many "armchair treasure hunt" books have been published over the years, most notably Masquerade (1979) by British artist Kit Williams. Masquerade promised a jewel-encrusted golden hare to the first person to unravel the riddle that Williams cleverly hid in his art. In 1982, while everyone in Britain was still madly digging up hedgerows and pastures in search of the golden hare, The Secret: A Treasure Hunt was published in America. The previous year, author and publisher Byron Preiss had traveled to 12 locations in the continental U.S. (and possibly Canada) to secretly bury a dozen ceramic casques. Each casque contained a small key that could be redeemed for one of 12 jewels Preiss kept in a safe deposit box in New York. The key to finding the casques was to match one of 12 paintings to one of 12 poetic verses, solve the resulting riddle, and start digging. Since 1982, only two of the 12 casques have been recovered. The first was located in Grant Park, Chicago, in 1984 by a group of students. The second was unearthed in 2004 in Cleveland by two members of the Quest4Treasure forum. Preiss was killed in an auto accident in the summer of 2005, but the hunt for his casques continues.

Istanbul has long been a place where stories and histories collide, where perception is as potent as fact. From the Koran to Shakespeare, this city with three names--Byzantium, Constantinople, Istanbul -- resonates as an idea and a place, real and imagined. Standing as the gateway between East and West, North and South, it has been the capital city of the Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman Empires. For much of its history it was the very center of the world, known simply as "The City," but, as Bettany Hughes reveals, Istanbul is not just a city, but a global story. In this epic new biography, Hughes takes us on a dazzling historical journey from the Neolithic to the present, through the many incarnations of one of the world's greatest cities--exploring the ways that Istanbul's influence has spun out to shape the wider world. Hughes investigates what it takes to make a city and tells the story not just of emperors, viziers, caliphs, and sultans, but of the poor and the voiceless, of the women and men whose aspirations and dreams have continuously reinvented Istanbul. Written with energy and animation, award-winning historian Bettany Hughes deftly guides readers through Istanbul's rich layers of history. Based on meticulous research and new archaeological evidence, this captivating portrait of the momentous life of Istanbul is visceral, immediate, and authoritative -- narrative history at its finest.

The city of Belfast tends to be discussed in terms of its distinctiveness from the rest of Ireland, an industrial city in an agricultural country. However, when compared with another 'British' industrial port such as Bristol it is the similarities rather than the differences that are surprising. When these cities are compared with Dublin, the contrasts become even more painfully evident. This book seeks to explore these contrasting urban centres at the start of the twentieth century.

A thousand years ago humanity rebelled against its animal masters and slaughtered their four leaders: the Lion, the Tiger, the Seal, and the Bear. Now men live in the dismal overpopulated City, torn between the remorse for their ancient sin and skepticism that insists that the entire story of the Rebellion is a fairy tale. Mara Raven has the unique ability to journey to the dream-sea, which is a place of unparalleled beauty and terror, holding clues to the crimes committed in the City. But is it a real place? What is its connection with the secret history of humanity? Are there other cities hidden within its depth? When Mara's husband disappears and her mother is savagely killed, Mara has to venture deep into the dream-sea to find the shocking answers.

A novel.