Egil and Nix have retired, as they always said they would. No, really - they have! No more sword and hammer-play for them! But when two recent acquaintances come calling for help, our hapless heroes find themselves up against the might of the entire Thieves Guild. And when kidnapping the leader of the most powerful guild in the land seems like the best course of action, you know you're in over your head A hugely-enjoyable adventure in classic sword and sorcery mode, from the New York Times bestselling author of "Star Wars: Deceived" and "The Hammer and the Blade".

For fans of Brent Weeks, Joe Abercrombie, Peter V. Brett, and Scott Lynch comes a fast-paced, hilarious new sword-and-sorcery series featuring two wise-cracking protagonists straight out of the golden age of epic fantasy. Once the most daring—some would say reckless—grave robbers around, Egil and Nix are now retired, having opened their own tavern with a side business as a brothel. The warrior-priest and the dashing rogue are done with adventuring. But is adventuring done with them? When two beautiful sisters run afoul of the notorious Thieves’ Guild, the semi-respectable entrepreneurs are called upon to defend their honor. And if they find an opportunity to enrich themselves along the way, no one could blame them. Soon they’re going toe-to-toe and hammer-to-skull with some of the deadliest cutthroats in town. There’s just one catch: The quest to settle this vendetta once and for all leads straight into the Blackalley, a ghostly byway that appears at random to suck unsuspecting passersby into its voracious maw. Only a fool or a madman would enter willingly. Luckily for Egil and Nix, they might just be both. Praise for the Egil and Nix novels “[Paul S.] Kemp delivers sword and sorcery at its rollicking best, after the fashion of Fritz Leiber’s Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser.”—Library Journal “Egil and Nix might not be the safest guys to go adventuring with, but they’re sure good company.”—Ed Greenwood, bestselling creator of Forgotten Realms “Did I mention how much fun Egil and Nix are? So. Much. Damn. Fun.”—Tordotcom

For readers of Brent Weeks, Joe Abercrombie, Peter V. Brett, and Scott Lynch comes the first book in a fantastic, hilarious new sword-and-sorcery series that puts a clever new twist on the golden age of epic fantasy. Robbing tombs for fun and profit might not be a stable career, but Egil and Nix aren’t in it for the long-term prospects. Egil is the hammer-wielding warrior-priest of a discredited god. Nix is a roguish thief with just enough knowledge of magic to conjure up trouble. Together, they seek riches and renown, yet often find themselves enlisted in lost causes—generally against their will. So why should their big score be any different? The trouble starts when Nix and Egil kill the demonic guardian of a long-lost crypt, nullifying an ancient pact made by the ancestors of an obscenely powerful wizard. Now the wizard will stop at nothing to keep that power from slipping away, even if it means freeing a rapacious beast from its centuries-old prison. And who better than Egil and Nix—the ones responsible for his current predicament—to perform this thankless task? Praise for The Hammer and the Blade and Paul S. Kemp “A gripping tale [with] the feeling of a classic Dungeons & Dragons campaign.”—Publishers Weekly “Most heroes work up to killing demons. Egil and Nix start there and pick up the pace.”—Elaine Cunningham, author of the Thorn Trilogy “Kemp delivers sword and sorcery at its rollicking best, after the fashion of Fritz Leiber’s Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser.”—Library Journal

"Egil and Nix are the buddy comedy heroes of epic fantasy--a priest of a forgotten cult and a roguish thief who have teamed up to win fortune and fame--and open the finest dive bar in the kingdom"--

The son of shadow warrior Erevis Cale prepares to seek out his destiny in this compelling second installment of the Sundering series The shadow legacy of Erevis Cale lives on even as his old foe Mephistopheles seeks to stamp it out at any cost. Cale’s son, Vasen—unmoored in time by the god Mask—has thus far been shielded from the archdevil’s dark schemes, alone among the servants of the Lord of Light who have raised him since birth. Living in a remote abbey nestled among the Thunder Peaks of Sembia, Vasen is haunted by dreams of his father, trapped in the frozen hell of Cania. He knows the day will come when he must assume his role in the divine drama unfolding across Faerûn. But Vasen does not know what that role should be or whether he is ready to take it on. He only knows what his father tells him in dreams—that he must not fail. Enter Drasek Riven, a former compatriot of Erevis Cale, now near divine and haunted by dreams of his own. He, too, knows the time to act is near. Shar, the great goddess of darkness, looks to cast her shadow on the world forever. Riven has glimpsed the cycle of night she hopes to complete, and he knows she must be stopped. At the crossroads of divine intrigue and mortal destiny, unlikely heroes unite to thwart the powers of shadow and hell, and the sundering of worlds is set on its course.

The antagonists—oiled, shaved, pierced, and tattooed; the glaring lights; the pounding music; the shouting crowd: professional wrestling is at once spectacle, sport, and business. Steel Chair to the Head provides a multifaceted look at the popular phenomenon of pro wrestling. The contributors combine critical rigor with a deep appreciation of wrestling as a unique cultural form, the latest in a long line of popular performance genres. They examine wrestling as it happens in the ring, is experienced in the stands, is portrayed on television, and is discussed in online chat rooms. In the process, they reveal wrestling as an expression of the contradictions and struggles that shape American culture. The essayists include scholars in anthropology, psychology, film studies, communication studies, and sociology, one of whom used to wrestle professionally. Classic studies of wrestling by Roland Barthes, Carlos Monsiváis, Sharon Mazer, and Henry Jenkins appear alongside original essays. Whether exploring how pro wrestling inflects race, masculinity, and ideas of reality and authenticity; how female fans express their enthusiasm for male wrestlers; or how lucha libre provides insights into Mexican social and political life, Steel Chair to the Head gives due respect to pro wrestling by treating it with the same thorough attention usually reserved for more conventional forms of cultural expression. Contributors. Roland Barthes, Douglas L. Battema, Susan Clerc, Laurence de Garis, Henry Jenkins III, Henry Jenkins IV, Heather Levi, Sharon Mazer, Carlos Monsiváis, Lucia Rahilly, Catherine Salmon, Nicholas Sammond, Phillip Serrat, Philip Sewell

Journalism and Free Speech brings together for the first time an historical and theoretical exploration of journalism and its relationship with the idea of free speech. Though freedom of the press is widely regarded as an essential ingredient to democratic societies, the relationship between the idea of freedom of speech and the practice of press freedom is one that is generally taken for granted. Censorship, in general terms is an anathema. This book explores the philosophical and historical development of free speech and critically examines the ways in which it relates to freedom of the press in practice. The main contention of the book is that the actualisation of press freedom should be seen as encompassing modes of censorship which place pressure upon the principled connection between journalism and freedom of speech. Topics covered include: The Philosophy of Free Speech Journalism and Free Speech Press Freedom and the Democratic Imperative New Media and the Global Public Sphere Regulating Journalism Privacy and Defamation National Security and Insecurity Ownership News, Language Culture and Censorship This book introduces students to a wide range of issues centred around freedom of speech, press freedom and censorship, providing an accessible text for courses on journalism and mass media.

Essays on electronic communication, cyberpunk culture, and rants and flames in cyberspace consider subjects such as the magazine Mondo 2000, the typewriter, virtual reality, feminism, comics, and erotica for cybernauts. Includes blurry b&w photos and illustrations, and an interviews with science fictions writers Samuel R. Delaney, Greg Tate, and Tricia Rose. Paper edition (unseen), $13.95. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR.

Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs return to New York City to investigate a triple murder and confront a killer terrorizing couples at their happiest--and most vulnerable in this explosive New York Times bestseller. In the early hours of a quiet, weekend morning in Manhattan's Diamond District, a brutal triple murder shocks the city. Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs quickly take the case. Curiously, the killer has left behind a half-million dollars' worth of gems at the murder scene, a jewelry store on 47th street. As more crimes follow, it becomes clear that the killer's target is not gems, but engaged couples themselves. The Promisor vows to take the lives of men and women during their most precious moments--midway through the purchase of an engagement ring, after a meeting with a wedding planner, trying on the perfect gown for a day that will never come. The Promisor arrives silently, armed with knife or gun, and a time of bliss is transformed, in an instant, to one of horror. Soon the Promiser makes a dangerous mistake: leaving behind an innocent witness, Vimal Lahori, a talented young diamond cutter, who can help Rhyme and Sachs blow the lid off the case. They must track down Vimal before the killer can correct his fatal error. Then disaster strikes, threatening to tear apart the very fabric of the city--and providing the perfect cover for the killer to slip through the cracks.

A translation of recent essays by the eminent literary critic, Tzvelan Todorov.