Honor Among Thieves

Honor Among Thieves
Author: Rachel Caine
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 251
Release: 2018-02-13
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 006257101X

Meet your new favorite kickass heroine in this daring YA series by New York Times bestselling authors Rachel Caine and Ann Aguirre, a thrilling yet romantic futuristic adventure perfect for fans of Claudia Gray’s A Thousand Pieces of You. Petty criminal Zara Cole has a painful past that’s made her stronger than most, which is why she chose life in New Detroit instead moving with her family to Mars. In her eyes, living inside a dome isn’t much better than a prison cell. Still, when Zara commits a crime that has her running scared, jail might be exactly where she’s headed. Instead Zara is recruited into the Honors, an elite team of humans selected by the Leviathan—a race of sentient alien ships—to explore the outer reaches of the universe as their passengers. Zara seizes the chance to flee Earth’s dangers, but when she meets Nadim, the alien ship she’s assigned, Zara starts to feel at home for the first time. But nothing could have prepared her for the dark, ominous truths that lurk behind the alluring glitter of starlight.

Twilight Rising, Serpent's Dream

Twilight Rising, Serpent's Dream
Author: Diana Marcellas
Publisher: Macmillan + ORM
Total Pages: 494
Release: 2007-04-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 142997740X

The young shari'a witch Brierley once thought that she was the last of her kind, powerful witches who lived in peace and harmony, using their powers for good. Only the women of her people had the gift and they ruled wisely and well. Her people had flourished for millennia, guided by the elemental beings who embodied the very forces of nature and who could tame the world. But then the fierce Allemani people came from beyond the sea. Newly settled in the land, they at first dwelt in peace with the shari'a. But trust turned to hate and the fear that the Allemani had for the witches soon boiled over into genocide. The Allemani decimated the shari'a out of fear of their differences. And so Briarly hid in the shadows, keeping her healing powers a secret-but she was compelled to use them when necessary, and these actions caused her to be discovered. When she was forced to flee the only home she had ever known, she did not go alone, for she had captured the heart Duke Melfallan, and though he is Allemani, he vows to attempt to change the Law condemning any shari'a to death because he has come to know that the shari'a are not monsters...and they can bring a great joy to the world. As she makes her way out into the world to hide while Melfallan fights to save her, Brierley discovers that she is not the last of her kind. That there are many, like her, who managed to stay in the shadows, generations of shari'a who have kept quiet, hid their powers and have waited. And that not all of whom share Brierley's good heart. The time of reckoning is at hand, the forces that the shari'a once controlled are being summoned once more, and Brierley finds that the hatred that fueled the Allemani ages past is still very much alive. Will Brierley have to sacrifice her life (and that of her unborn child) to save an entire world and make things right for her people? At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

The Good And Evil Serpent

The Good And Evil Serpent
Author: James H. Charlesworth
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 742
Release: 2010-01-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0300142730

The serpent of ancient times was more often associated with positive attributes like healing and eternal life than it was with negative meanings. This groundbreaking book explores in plentiful detail the symbol of the serpent from 40,000 BCE to the present, and from diverse regions in the world. In doing so it emphasizes the creativity of the biblical authors' use of symbols and argues that we must today reexamine our own archetypal conceptions with comparable creativity.--From publisher description.

The Serpent's Shadow

The Serpent's Shadow
Author: Mercedes Lackey
Publisher: Astra Publishing House
Total Pages: 401
Release: 2024-10-22
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0756419336

The first novel in Mercedes Lackey's magical Elemental Masters series reimagines the fairy tale Snow White in a richly-detailed alternate Edwardian England Maya Witherspoon lived most of the first twenty-five years of her life in her native India. As the daughter of a prominent British physician and a Brahmin woman of the highest caste, she graduated from the University of Delhi as a Doctor of Medicine by the age of twenty-two. But the science of medicine was not Maya’s only heritage. For Maya’s aristocratic mother Surya was a sorceress—a former priestess of the mystical magics fueled by the powerful and fearsome pantheon of Indian gods. Though Maya felt the stirring of magic in her blood, her mother had repeatedly refused to train her. “I cannot,” she had said, her eyes dark with distress, whenever Maya asked. “Yours is the magic of your father’s blood, not mine....” Surya never had the chance to explain this enigmatic statement to her daughter before a mysterious illness claimed her life. Yet it was Maya’s father’s death shortly thereafter that confirmed her darkest suspicions. For her father was killed by the bite of a krait, a tiny venomous snake, and in the last hours of her mother’s life, Surya had warned Maya to beware “the serpent’s shadow.” Maya knew she must flee the land of her birth or face the same fate as her parents. In self-imposed exile in Edwardian London, Maya knew that she could not hide forever from the vindictive power that had murdered her parents. She knew in her heart that even a vast ocean couldn’t protect her from “the serpent’s shadow” that had so terrified her mother. Her only hope was to find a way to master her own magic: the magic of her father’s blood. But who would teach her? And could she learn enough to save her life by the time her relentless pursuers caught up with their prey?

Serpent-handling Believers

Serpent-handling Believers
Author: Thomas G. Burton
Publisher: Univ. of Tennessee Press
Total Pages: 228
Release: 1993
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780870497889

Burton seeks to present a balanced view of the remote churches of East Tennessee where believers take literally the words of Saint Mark: "and they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them."

Cradle of the Serpent

Cradle of the Serpent
Author: Linda Lee Greene
Publisher: Gatekeeper Press
Total Pages: 262
Release: 2017-03-20
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1619846357

~2018 American Fiction Awards Cross-Genre Finalist~ Multi-award-winning author Linda Lee Greene weaves a tale that brims with unimaginable twists and turns in a long-term marriage. “Enthralling” journeys into the human psyche, romantic love, archaeology, and American Indian history carry the reader into archaeologist Lily Light’s quest to come to terms with the catastrophic consequences of her husband’s infidelity. The trauma throws Lily into “amazing” episodes of past-life regression in which she takes on the persona of a young maiden named White Flower, a tribal member of the long-ago builders of Ohio’s Great Serpent Mound. White Flower’s life of thousands of years before reveals to Lily the unexpected path to her own salvation. Given 5 Stars by Readers Favorite, CRADLE OF THE SERPENT brims with “enthralling” journeys into the human psyche, romantic love, archaeology, American Indian history, spinal cord injury, its consequences, and its contemporary treatments, as well as “amazing” sequences of past-life regression, and unimaginable twists and turns in a long-term marriage. 5 STARS FROM READERS’ FAVORITE Author’s Social Sites BOOK REVIEW Reviewed by Sefina Hawke for Readers' Favorite Cradle of the Serpent (A Man and a Woman's Imperfect Love) by Linda Lee Greene is a fictional drama with a theme of dream/time travel and archaeology. This is a book that would appeal most to an audience of young adults and adults who enjoy drama romance novels that are not erotic. Lily Light is an archaeologist who works at the Great Serpent Mound in Ohio. Her work opened her to experiences, knowledge, and beliefs she never knew existed. Psychotherapist Michael Neeson is Lily’s therapist and guide in her dream travels where she becomes a woman known as White Flower. Lily’s life path takes her to heights she never knew existed in her dream travels, yet she also experiences hurt when she discovers her husband’s infidelity. Cradle of the Serpent (A Man and a Woman's Imperfect Love) by Linda Lee Greene is a book with a slower pace, yet the leisurely pace only added to the story instead of detracting from it. I enjoyed the way that Lily Light develops as a character during the course of the book as her husband’s shooting, his paralyzed state, and the discovery of his mistress leave her reeling. The way that she not only recovers, but also throws herself into her dream states that allow her to embrace White Flower, was amazing. I loved the suspense in trying to discover if White Flower was a dream state or if Lily was time traveling. The additional perspective of Michael Neeson provided a nice balance to the story. I also particularly liked that the love scenes were written to be romantic instead of erotic.

Mark Twain and the Brazen Serpent

Mark Twain and the Brazen Serpent
Author: Doug Aldridge
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 309
Release: 2017-03-13
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1476668450

Focusing on the overarching theme of religious satire in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, this study reveals the novel's hidden motive, moral and plot. The author considers generations of criticism spanning the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, along with new textual evidence showing how Twain's richly evocative style dissects Huck's conscience to propose humane amorality as a corrective to moral absolutes. Jim and Huck emerge as archetypal twins--biracial brothers who prefigure America's color-blind ideals.

Nepal

Nepal
Author: Axel Michaels
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 433
Release: 2024-03
Genre: History
ISBN: 0197650937

This comprehensive history of Nepal spans pre-historic times and the Licchavi Period to more recent developments, such as the Maoist insurgency and the rise of the republic. In addition to religious history and histories of selected regions (Mustang, Sherpa, Tarai, and others), it covers the nation's relations with its powerful neighbors and its cultural aspects, especially its rich history of arts, architecture, and crafts.

A Dragon's Head and a Serpent's Tail

A Dragon's Head and a Serpent's Tail
Author: Kenneth M. Swope
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
Total Pages: 424
Release: 2013-04-29
Genre: History
ISBN: 0806185023

The invasion of Korea by Japanese troops in May of 1592 was no ordinary military expedition: it was one of the decisive events in Asian history and the most tragic for the Korean peninsula until the mid-twentieth century. Japanese overlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi envisioned conquering Korea, Ming China, and eventually all of Asia; but Korea’s appeal to China’s Emperor Wanli for assistance triggered a six-year war involving hundreds of thousands of soldiers and encompassing the whole region. For Japan, the war was “a dragon’s head followed by a serpent’s tail”: an impressive beginning with no real ending. Kenneth M. Swope has undertaken the first full-length scholarly study in English of this important conflict. Drawing on Korean, Japanese, and especially Chinese sources, he corrects the Japan-centered perspective of previous accounts and depicts Wanli not as the self-indulgent ruler of received interpretations but rather one actively engaged in military affairs—and concerned especially with rescuing China’s client state of Korea. He puts the Ming in a more vigorous light, detailing Chinese siege warfare, the development and deployment of innovative military technologies, and the naval battles that marked the climax of the war. He also explains the war’s repercussions outside the military sphere—particularly the dynamics of intraregional diplomacy within the shadow of the Chinese tributary system. What Swope calls the First Great East Asian War marked both the emergence of Japan’s desire to extend its sphere of influence to the Chinese mainland and a military revival of China’s commitment to defending its interests in Northeast Asia. Swope’s account offers new insight not only into the history of warfare in Asia but also into a conflict that reverberates in international relations to this day.

The Oracles of Apollo

The Oracles of Apollo
Author: John Opsopaus
Publisher: Llewellyn Worldwide
Total Pages: 200
Release: 2017-07-08
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 0738752258

Throughout history, divination has been an important tool for seeking guidance from the gods. Fortunately, several classical divination systems are available to us again today. The Oracles of Apollo shows how to use two rediscovered divination systems: the Alphabet Oracle, a system that uses the ancient Greek alphabet, and the Counsels of the Seven Sages, a series of 147 short, oracular statements that were inscribed on tablets at Delphi. This book shares divination techniques and rituals—including the use of alphabet stones, dice, staves, beads, and coins—and interpretations of the outcomes to help you integrate the wisdom of the gods and goddesses. These oracles were originally designed thousands of years ago to provide insights into practical matters and deeper issues...and they can be used again today.