Moonscatter

Moonscatter
Author: Jo Clayton
Publisher: Open Road Media
Total Pages: 326
Release: 2016-08-09
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1504038495

Warrior woman Serroi finds herself at the center of a deadly magical contest between a goddess and a dark wizard in this thrilling sequel to Moongather. Moonscatter is the second volume of prolific American fantasist Jo Clayton’s Duel of Sorcery Trilogy, carrying readers back into the richly imagined fantasy world of Moongather,and into the heat of a warrior woman’s desperate battle to save it from annihilation by the most terrible wizard of the realm. As a young child, Serroi was held in thrall to Ser Noris, the powerful and villainous mage who saved her from certain death only to exploit her as a tool in his unholy experiments in necromancy and demonic possession. After being cast aside, she became a chosen warrior of the meie, though nightmarish memories continue to haunt her. As for the dark sorcerer, his power and malevolence have since increased a thousandfold. Having achieved eternal life, no evil in this world can compare with his, and now Ser Noris, bored with a lack of worthy opponents, has challenged the Goddess herself, She who lives at the center of all things. Only Serroi can truly recognize the terrible depth of the darkness that is overtaking her world. And as she sets forth on a desperate quest to locate the last remaining power capable of defeating Ser Noris’s insidious plot—the enigmatic and wildly unpredictable hermit Coyote—a young girl in a faraway village, whose fate will soon be intertwined with Serroi’s, is coming of age in a time of violence and fear. But what chance do mere mortal heroes have when faced with malevolence so powerful and brazen that it dares to take on a goddess, and would obliterate an entire world on a whim? An enthralling epic tale of courage, destiny, swords, and sorcery, Moonscatter stands at the center of an unsung classic high fantasy trilogy that proves Clayton once again to be the artistic and imaginative equal of revered contemporaries Andre Norton, Jane Yolen, C. J. Cherryh, and other greats in the field of speculative fiction.

The Picara

The Picara
Author: Anne K. Kaler
Publisher: Popular Press
Total Pages: 236
Release: 1991
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780879725167

Courtesan and criminal, thief and trollop, warrior and wanderer--the picara embodies the continuing archetypal pattern of a woman's autonomy. She is the sly sharpster in Defoe's heroines such as Roxana and Moll Flanders. With an ancestress like Becky Sharp, the picara evolves into Scarlett O'Hara before finding a comfortable niche as the female hero in fantasy written by women. The Picara traces the development of this character, from an autonomous woman in a harsh patriarchal society to the female hero of the modern fantasy novel.

The Blue Roan Child

The Blue Roan Child
Author: Jamieson Findlay
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 296
Release: 2011-04-20
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0385672497

An epic adventure of love, trust, magic, and a very special friendship between a brave young girl and a remarkable horse. Syeira lives in Haysele, a land of horses and horse-sensitives. Fate pairs her with the wild mare Arwin when Arwin’s two colts are taken from her, and Syeira decides to help Arwin rescue the colts. Their mission proves harder than they imagined, for the fearsome Lord Ran has taken the colts far away to Thruckport, his fortified city by the sea. But despite his power, Lord Ran’s empire is less secure than he thinks. Rebel forces are gathering against him, and a few brave souls are ready to risk their lives to help Syeira and Arwin. Even so, it will take all their courage to save the colts. Like Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy and J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, Jamieson Findlay’s The Blue Roan Child is an enchanting story for readers young and old.

The Design and Construction of Large Optical Telescopes

The Design and Construction of Large Optical Telescopes
Author: Pierre Bely
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 527
Release: 2006-05-26
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0387226060

There is no dearth of books on telescope optics and, indeed, optics is clearly a keyelementinthedesignandconstructionoftelescopes.Butitisbynomeans the only important element. As telescopes become larger and more costly, other aspects such as structures, pointing, wavefront control, enclosures, and project management become just as critical. Although most of the technical knowledge required for all these ?elds is available in various specialized books, journal articles, and technical reports, they are not necessarily written with application to telescopes in mind. This bookisa?rstattemptatassemblinginasingletextthebasicastronomicaland engineering principles used in the design and construction of large telescopes. Itsaimistobroadlycoverallmajoraspectsofthe?eld,fromthefundamentals ofastronomicalobservationto optics, controlsystems,structural,mechanical, andthermalengineering,aswellasspecializedtopicssuchassiteselectionand program management. This subject is so vast that an in-depth treatment is obviously imprac- cal. Our intent is therefore only to provide a comprehensive introduction to the essential aspects of telescope design and construction. This book will not replace specialized scienti?c and technical texts. But we hope that it will be useful for astronomers, managers, and systems engineers who seek a basic understanding of the underlying principles of telescope making, and for s- cialists who wish to acquaint themselves with the fundamental requirements and approaches of their colleagues in other disciplines.

Moongather

Moongather
Author: Jo Clayton
Publisher: Open Road Media
Total Pages: 266
Release: 2016-08-09
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1504038487

A young warrior woman, Serroi fights to keep dark magic from destroying her world, in the first book of Jo Clayton’s acclaimed Duel of Sorcery fantasy trilogy. Serroi is unique in her world, and was nearly put to death in infancy as a result. A green-skinned “misborn,” small in stature with an unnatural connection to the natural world, she was nonetheless chosen and exceptionally trained as a meie warrior. As such, she fears nothing, except the cold and inscrutable Nor and their dark magic. Something in Serroi’s childhood awakened her to a shocking and terrible truth about these malevolent wizards, one of whom both saved and cursed her in her earliest years. It is her deep-seated terror that causes her to betray and abandon her shieldmate, Tayyan, during a rooftop battle with a magic-wielder, a craven act that threatens to haunt Serroi to the end of her days. However, it is not cowardice that makes her run, but rather her knowledge of a great evil in the offing. In that instant before flight, Serroi recognizes the coming of something monstrous, though she cannot yet put a name to it. Now it is up to the young warrior to somehow prevent the unthinkable: She must alter a grim destiny that is set to occur on the fateful and fearful night known as Moongather, when demons will be free to enter the world. Richly imaginative and stylistically inventive—told from the alternate viewpoints of the child Serroi just coming of age and of Serroi as a grown woman—author Jo Clayton’s epic fantasy is a magnificent reading experience, evoking wonder and terror in equal measure. Moongather details a complex world of magic and dark political intrigue where divine forces do secret battle, and where the foundations of a matriarchal society and of native life itself are threatened by the twisted desires of a jealous queen and a powerful wizard. Creator of the much loved Diadem Saga and Skeen Trilogy, Clayton’s engrossing, endlessly exciting Duel of Sorcery Trilogy firmly places her among the ranks of revered fantasists Jane Yolen, Mercedes Lackey, and Marion Zimmer Bradley.

Future and Fantastic Worlds

Future and Fantastic Worlds
Author: Sheldon Jaffery
Publisher: Wildside Press LLC
Total Pages: 318
Release: 1987-01-01
Genre: Reference
ISBN: 1557420025

Future and Fantastic Worlds embodies an unusual approach to the field of bibliographic research, including over 700 annotations of every DAW book published through mid-1987, with indexes by author, artist, and title, providing a massive guide to modern SF writers and their works, with much background data. Interspersed throughout the book are numerous wry, irreverent, and amusing observations offered by the late and highly respected researcher in this extremely valuable genre tool.

Covencraft

Covencraft
Author: Amber K
Publisher: Llewellyn Worldwide
Total Pages: 532
Release: 1998
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 9781567180183

The ultimate coven handbook, Coven Craft was written by a well-known and respected Wiccan High Priestess, who guides you through the workings of covens from Altars to Zoning. Over the course of twenty-seven chapters and forty-two appendices, Amber K shares with you her vast coven know-how, with plenty of veteran insights and straight-up advice on: --Finding or organizing a coven --Tools and supplies --Finances and incorporation --Coven offices --New members --The coven calendar --Pagan ritual --The sabbats and esbats --Training and intiation --Group dynamics --Counseling --Elders --Traditions --Networking and affiliation --Covens in the community It has been said that leading a coven is like herding cats. Whether you're searching for fresh ways to meet those challenges or you're thinking about joining your first magical group, consult this friendly, knowledgeable companion for guidance.

Changer's Moon

Changer's Moon
Author: Jo Clayton
Publisher: Open Road Media
Total Pages: 291
Release: 2016-08-09
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1504038509

Warrior woman Sorrei hires mercenaries from another world to halt the destruction of her own in the riveting conclusion to the Duel of Sorcery Trilogy. A superior fantasist on par with Jane Yolen, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Andre Norton, and other acknowledged masters of speculative fiction, the accomplished world-builder Jo Clayton concludes her magnificent Duel of Sorcery fantasy trilogy by turning expectations around and taking her classic sword and sorcery tale into breathtaking new territory. As a magical contest between a sorcerer and a goddess races toward its terrible conclusion, a world is left hanging in the balance. But suddenly the rules change. Once, the meie warrior Sorrei was a helpless pawn of Ser Noris, doing the dark wizard’s bidding as he delved into unnatural worlds and demonic arts. No one feared the great sorcerer more than she, which is why Sorrei risked her life to bring Coyote, the Changer, into the game. However, now that the Nor mage has drawn the magical cards that give him the upper hand against the Indweller goddess, the world they have been playing for appears irrevocably his. But hope lives on in another place and time. A world far removed from Sorrei’s own—in an alternate realm shackled by the yoke of cruel political repression, yet where the ignited fires of rebellion burn hot and bright—is where the meie must now turn for help. Sorrei cannot falter, for the warrior has become a priestess in the service of the Changer and in her hands she holds the last hope for the continuation of all things. In the astonishing finale to her monumental trilogy, the great Clayton ingeniously reinvents sword and sorcery high fantasy. Concluding a magnificent epic tale of courage, magic, doom, and destiny with a grand flourish, she takes enormous risks and succeeds magnificently, making the remarkable final chapter of the Duel of Sorcery something truly magical indeed.

Encyclopedia of Fantasy and Horror Fiction

Encyclopedia of Fantasy and Horror Fiction
Author: Don D'Ammassa
Publisher: Infobase Learning
Total Pages: 2061
Release: 2015-04-22
Genre: Fantasy fiction, American
ISBN: 1438140630

Presents articles on the horror and fantasy genres of fiction, including authors, themes, significant works, and awards.

Changer's Moon

Changer's Moon
Author: Jo Clayton
Publisher: D A W Books, Incorporated
Total Pages: 358
Release: 1985
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9780886770655

The two contenders tossed the dice for the final contest. The Noris drew the Runner, the Sword, the Sorcerer, the Eye. He was pleased. The armies could march. The valley and all that was in it would be his. The Indweller drew the Kingfisher, the Poet-warrior, the Priestess, the Magic Child. "The mix as before," she said, "but with a change." She pointed to the priestess. She still had a chance. And the chance was Serroi, once the puppet of the Noris, now moving through the people like an electric current, against the patriarchs, to serve the Changer. For the Coyote was the one who could alter the rules--and make the incredible credible and the impossible possible