The Fallen Blade

The Fallen Blade
Author: Jon Courtenay Grimwood
Publisher: Hachette UK
Total Pages: 304
Release: 2011-02-03
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0748112855

Venice, 1407. The city is at the height of its powers. In theory, Duke Marco commands, but Marco is a simpleton so his aunt and uncle rule in his stead. They seem all powerful, yet live in fear of assassins better than their own. On the night their world changes, Marco's young cousin prays in the family chapel for deliverance from a forced marriage. It is her misfortune to be alone when Mamluk pirates break in to abduct her - an act that will ultimately trigger war. Elsewhere Atilo, the Duke's chief assassin, cuts a man's throat. Hearing a noise, he turns back to find a boy drinking from the victim's wound. The speed with which the angel-faced boy dodges his dagger and scales a wall stuns Atilo. He knows then he must hunt him. Not to kill him, but because he's finally found what he thought was impossible - someone fit to be his apprentice. Award-winning author Jon Courtenay Grimwood is a master storyteller. Here, he blends history, politics and dark fantasy in a compelling vision of an alternative Venice.

The Assassini

The Assassini
Author: Thomas Gifford
Publisher: Bantam
Total Pages: 618
Release: 1990
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9780553057287

It is 1982. In the Vatican, priestly vultures gather around the dying Pope, whispering the names of possible successors. In a forgotten monastery on Ireland's gale-swept coast, a dangerous document is hidden, waiting to be claimed. And in a family chapel in Princeton, New Jersey, a nun is murdered at her prayers. Sister Valentine was an outspoken activist, a thorn in the Church's side. When her brother, lawyer Ben Driskill, realizes the Church will never investigate her death, he sets out to find the murderer himself--and uncovers an explosive secret."The Assassini. An age-old brotherhood of killers. Once they were hired by princes of the Church to protect it in dangerous times. But whose orders do they now obey? "The Assassini marks the triumphant retum of a master at the peak of his powers--the first novel in more than a decade from the acclaimed author of "The Wind Chill Factor. "From the Paperback edition.

The Outcast Blade

The Outcast Blade
Author: Jon Courtenay Grimwood
Publisher: Hachette UK
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2012-03-26
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0316193445

As the Byzantine and German emperors plot war against each other, Venice's future rests in the hands of three unwilling individuals: The newly knighted Sir Tycho. He defeated the Mamluk navy but he cannot make the woman he loves love him back. Tortured by secrets, afraid of the daylight, he sees no reason to save a city he hates. The grieving Lady Giulietta. Virgin. Mother. Widow. All she wants is to retire from the poisonous world of the Venetian court to mourn her husband in peace. But her duty is to Venice: both emperors want her hand in marriage and an alliance with Europe's richest city. She must choose, knowing that whichever suitor she rejects will become Venice's bitterest enemy. Lastly, a naked, mud-strewn girl who crawls from a paupers' grave on an island in the Venetian lagoon and begins by killing the men who buried her. Between them, they will set the course of history.

The Blind Assassin

The Blind Assassin
Author: Margaret Atwood
Publisher: Emblem Editions
Total Pages: 578
Release: 2010-12-10
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1551994941

“Ten days after the war ended, my sister Laura drove a car off a bridge.” These words are spoken by Iris Chase Griffen, married at eighteen to a wealthy industrialist but now poor and eighty-two. Iris recalls her far from exemplary life, and the events leading up to her sister’s death, gradually revealing the carefully guarded Chase family secrets. Among these is “The Blind Assassin,” a novel that earned the dead Laura Chase not only notoriety but also a devoted cult following. Sexually explicit for its time, it was a pulp fantasy improvised by two unnamed lovers who meet secretly in rented rooms and seedy cafés. As this novel-within-a-novel twists and turns through love and jealousy, self-sacrifice and betrayal, so does the real narrative, as both move closer to war and catastrophe. Margaret Atwood’s Booker Prize-winning sensation combines elements of gothic drama, romantic suspense, and science fiction fantasy in a spellbinding tale.

The Wind Chill Factor

The Wind Chill Factor
Author: Thomas Gifford
Publisher: Open Road Media
Total Pages: 508
Release: 2012-08-14
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1453266070

A man is endangered by his family’s long-ago Nazi ties in this “riveting” thriller by a New York Times–bestselling author (Rolling Stone). His marriage destroyed by drinking, John Cooper returns to Cambridge, Massachusetts, trying to recapture the joy he felt as an undergraduate in Harvard University’s sacred halls. He is just beginning to piece his life together when he gets a telegram calling him home to Minnesota. The message comes from Buenos Aires, and with Cooper’s family history, that can mean only one thing: The Nazis are staging a comeback. To John and his brother, their grandfather was a kind, distinguished old man. But to the American people, he was the worst kind of traitor. An industrialist who spent the 1930s in business with Fascists, he became infamous as “America’s Number One Nazi.” When Hitler’s old lieutenants decide to get together a Fourth Reich, the Coopers are the first family they call. John hasn’t even made it to Minnesota when the first attempt on his life comes—a message that if he isn’t ready to honor his family legacy, he will die for it.

Beyond Evil

Beyond Evil
Author: Dan Morris
Publisher: iUniverse
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2007-06-18
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0595886736

Someone is performing a bastardized version of the Black Mass in San Antonio, Texas where Catholic Nuns are sadistically tortured, and slain. A scrupulous attorney hires an elite private investigator, Frank McLaughlin, to investigate on behalf of an anonymous client. Frank elicits the help of a White Witch, Fiona and they quickly fall in love. Time and time again, Frank's resolve is tested as he is torn between logic, duty and his own undefined faith. The police are baffled as the Catholic Archbishop cries out for action while silently pointing an accusing finger at the World Church of Satan. Chief of Homicide, Norman Lenowski, has pulled out all stops to solve the murders by creating a special task force called "Operation Madness." Fearing a cataclysmic showdown with the Catholic hierarchy, the World Church of Satan, headed by Lord Nicholas Stonefire, launches its own investigation into the serial murders. The Catholic Papacy unleashes their ultimate troubleshooter, an Assassini. The carnage continues while all efforts cross and collide until the shocking end. There is ample fodder here for all conspiracy theorists.

The Assassin's Blade

The Assassin's Blade
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 465
Release: 2014-03-04
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1619632217

The twist of a knife. The birth of a legend. Step into the world of the #1 bestselling Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas with this collection of prequel novellas. Celaena Sardothien is her kingdom's most feared assassin. Though she works for the powerful Assassin's Guild and its scheming master, Arobynn Hamel, she yields to no one and trusts only her fellow killer-for-hire, Sam. But when Arobynn dispatches her on missions that take her from remote islands to hostile deserts, Celaena finds herself acting independently of his wishes and questioning her own allegiance. If she hopes to escape Arobynn's clutches, Celaena will have to put her faith in her wits and her blade . . . knowing that if she fails, she'll lose not just a chance at freedom but her life. A prequel to the New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass, this collection of five novellas explores the history of this cunning assassin and her enthralling-and deadly-world. Included in this volume: The Assassin and the Pirate Lord The Assassin and the Healer The Assassin and the Desert The Assassin and the Underworld The Assassin and the Empire

Assassins

Assassins
Author: W B Bartlett
Publisher: The History Press
Total Pages: 357
Release: 2009-07-20
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 075249614X

The so-called 'Assassins' are one of the most spectacular legends of medieval history. In the popular imagination they are drug-crazed fanatics who launched murderous attacks on their enemies, terrorising the medieval world. Since the tales of Marco Polo and others, the myths surrounding them have been fantastically embellished and the truth has become ever more obscure. Universally loathed and feared, they were especially frightening because they apparently had no fear of death. Bartlett's book deftly traces the origins of the sect out of the schisms within the early Islamic religion and examines the impact of Hasan-i-Sabbah, its founder, and Sinan - the legendary 'Old Man of the Mountain'. This popular history follows the vivid history of the group over the next two centuries, including its clash with the crusaders, its near destruction at the hands of the Mongols, and its subsequent history. Finally, and fascinatingly, we discover how the myths surrounding the Assassins have developed over time, and why indeed they continue to have such an impact on the popular imagination.

Cannabis

Cannabis
Author: Martin Booth
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 449
Release: 2015-06-16
Genre: History
ISBN: 1250082196

To some it's the classic "gateway drug", to others it is a harmless way to relax, or provide relief from crippling pain. Some fear it is a dangerous drug with addictive properties; to others still it is a legal anomaly and should be decriminalized. Whatever the viewpoint, and by whatever name it is known, cannabis--or marijuana, hashish, dope, pot, weed, grass, ganja--incites debate at every level, and the effect it has on the cultures and economics of every corner of the globe is undeniable. In this definitive study, Martin Booth crafts a tale of medical advance, religious enlightenment, political subterfuge and human rights; of law enforcement and custom officers, cunning smugglers, street pushers, gang warfare, writers, artists, musicians, and happy-go-lucky hippies and potheads. Booth chronicles the fascinating and often mystifying process through which cannabis, a relatively harmless substance, became outlawed throughout the Western world, and the devastating effect such legislation has on the global economy. Above all, he demonstrates how the case for decriminalization remains one of the twenty-first century's hottest topics.

The Fallen Blade

The Fallen Blade
Author: Jon Courtenay Grimwood
Publisher: Orbit
Total Pages: 350
Release: 2011-01-27
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0316123390

In the depths of night, customs officers board a galley in a harbor and overpower its guards. In the hold they find oil and silver, and a naked boy chained to the bulkhead. Stunningly beautiful but half-starved, the boy has no name. The officers break the boy's chains to rescue him, but he escapes. Venice is at the height of its power. Duke Marco commands the seas, taxes his colonies, and, like every duke before him, fears assassins better than his own. In a side chapel, Marco's thirteen-year old cousin prays for deliverance from her forced marriage. It is her bad fortune to be there when Moorish pirates break in to steal a chalice, but it is the Moors' good fortune -- they kidnap her and demand ransom from the Duke. As day dawns, Atilo, the Duke's chief assassin, prepares to kill the man who let in the pirates. Having cut the traitor's throat, he turns back, having heard a noise, and finds a stranger crouched over the dying man, drinking blood from the wound. The speed with which the boy dodges a dagger and scales a pillar stuns Atilo. And the assassin knows he has to find the boy. Not to kill him though -- because he's finally found what he thought he would never find. Someone fit to be his apprentice.