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Tryam dreams about becoming a legendary paladin of old and combating the evil that is falling across Medias like a malevolent shadow. But as a ward of the church, he is forced to obey every whim of an overbearing abbot who preaches peace above all else. Dementhus is a wizard of immense power and even greater ambition. 

A Princess of Mars is a science fantasy novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the first of the Barsoom series. Set on Mars, the story is full of heroic feats and interplanetary romance, against the background of a dying planet with an increasingly arid environment. The humanoid Red Martians who are allies of the protagonist, Carter, control the planet’s system of canals. When Dejah Thoris, the Princess of Helium is captured by the Tharks, Carter recues her.

The Russian Revolution had a decisive impact on the history of the 20th century. In the years following the collapse of the Soviet regime and the opening of its archives, it has become possible to step back and see the full picture. Starting with an overview of the roots of the revolution, Fitzpatrick takes the story from 1917, through Stalin's "revolution from above", to the great purges of the 1930s. 

The Gods of Mars (1918) is a science fantasy novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs and the second of Burroughs' Barsoom series. It features the characters John Carter and his wife Dejah. The story opens with John Carter’s return to Mars after a 10-year separation, but unfortunately, he materializes in the one place on Mars from which nobody has ever escaped: Valley Dor, the afterlife. It is populated by two dangerous species, Pirates and Therns.

Ernst Jünger (1895-1998) was a decorated German soldier and author who became famous for his World War I memoir Storm of Steel, published in 1920, shortly after the end of the war. Based on the journal entries he wrote during his time in the trenches, the book describes World War I through the eyes of an ordinary soldier. The book begins with Jünger’s initial deployment in 1915 and ends with him being severely wounded in 1918. He writes about the raiding parties, defending the trenches against British incursions, and simply enduring as shells tore his comrades apart.

The Warlords of Mars completes Edgar Rice Burroughs’ action-packed Barsoom Trilogy. In the attempt to rescue his wife Dejah Thoris from captivity, John Carter enters the northern polar regions of Mars where he discovers the previously unknown Yellow Martians of Okar under their tyrant Salensus Oll. The tyrant’s nephew Talu assists Carter to enter the realm, and a rebellion is followed by an invasion of the Heliumite fleet.

The James Bond Box Set, Books One to Three: Casino Royale, Live and Let Die, and Moonraker is an excellent introduction to the world of Ian Fleming’s hero, secret service agent Bond, James Bond. The novels present a more profound and darker edge than the movies. Live and Let Die is the story of Bond's pursuit of Mr Big, who smuggles pirate treasure from the Caribbean to New York and funneling the proceeds to Moscow.

Meet Ollie. He’s eleven years old. He hasn’t yet met a Killer Sudoku he can’t solve, but he finds the world around him difficult. People don’t say what they mean, and he hates being wrong. And now, a sudden tragedy teaches him there is no easy answer to the problem of grief. When Ollie’s happy-go-lucky father, Rich, dies of brain cancer, his mother, Ruth, has no idea how to keep living, and the entire family is thrown into disarray.

In the short story The Girl Who Owned a Bear, Jane Gladys Brown’s mother leaves her in the care of Nora the maid when she goes shopping. While Nora is busy in the pantry, Jane Gladys works on her embroidery, until a mysterious little man arrives and gives her a large book titled Thingamajigs. When she opens it, the pictures come to life and appear in the room, including a monkey, a donkey, a leopard and a bear. When her mother returns, all of them jump back into the book. 

What you want from life will not land in your lap. It will not happen without your agency. Getting what you want - and no doubt deserve - takes a willingness to fight and to roll with the punches. But every now and then, one of those punches will land, and it will knock you out. What happens next is the most important thing. Do you stay down, or do you get up and go again?

England in 1326 stands on the brink of civil war. Due to the incompetence of Edward II's government, the north is virtually overrun by the Scots, while an invasion fleet is massing across the channel, led by Edward's estranged queen, Isabella, the 'She-Wolf of France'. The first book in the Folville's Law series follows the adventures of Sir John Swale, knight of Cumberland, as he investigates a murder that threatens to bring disaster to Edward's failing kingdom. Along the way he clashes with Eustace Folville and James Coterel, two of the most notorious and brutal outlaws in England. As the death toll mounts, it remains to be seen who will survive and who will perish in the savage game of war and politics. 

Live and Let Die is the second novel in Ian Fleming's James Bond series of stories. Set in London, New York City, Florida, and Jamaica, the story follows Bond's pursuit of "Mr Big, a criminal who works with the Soviet secret service and is involved in the world of voodoo. Mr. Big is smuggling pirate treasure from the Caribbean to New York and funnelling the proceeds to Moscow. Bond‘s job is to sabotage Mr Big’s operation and reclaim the treasure for the United Kingdom.

Moonraker (1955) is the third novel by the British author Ian Fleming that features secret service agent James Bond. Based on a Fleming screenplay, the plot involves industrialist Hugo Drax and a prototype missile intended for the defense of the United Kingdom. Drax, however, intends to use it for an opposite purpose. The novel’s themes include the idea of the traitor within, the Cold War, totalitarian ideologies, and nuclear apocalypse.

Casino Royale, the first novel by the British author Ian Fleming, was published in 1953. As the first James Bond book, it paved the way for a further 11 novels and two short story collections by Fleming, and numerous further Bond novels by other authors. It tells the story of the British secret agent James Bond, gambling at the casino in Royale-les-Eaux to bankrupt the treasurer of a communist union who is a secret member of Soviet state intelligence. The novel is packed with intrigue, action, close escapes, clever spy gadgets, intrigue, and glamorous women.