She knows she’s powerful. But is she enough? Claire Emerson has turned her back on destiny. After failing to master her unpredictable elemental magic, it’s clear to her she doesn't belong—and her fellow Crones agree. But just as she leaves her magical life behind, she learns that one of the Crones has turned the others over to the mages and Morok, the dark god they serve. Knowing Morok can use the Crones’ magic to reclaim his own powers, she has no choice but to go after them—alone. Tracking down and confronting the traitor is the easy part. Getting past the mages who hold the Crones captive is going to be a little more difficult… especially when Morok opens a portal to another world that threatens everything Claire holds dear. Can Claire unleash her full powers in time to save her companions—and the world?

New York Times bestselling author Laura Lippman, a journalist for many years, collects here her recent essays exploring motherhood as an older mom, her life as a reader, her relationships with her parents, friendship, and other topics that will resonate with a large audience. Her voice is wry and relatable, her takes often surprising. Meet the Woman Behind the Books… In this collection of new and previously published essays, New York Times bestselling author Laura Lippman offers her take on a woman's life across the decades. Her childhood and school years, her newspaper career, her experiences as a novelist—Lippman finds universal touchstones in an unusual life that has as many twists as her award-winning crime fiction. Essays include: · Men Explain The Wire to Me · Game of Crones · My Life as a Villainess · My Father’s Bar · The 31st Stocking These candid essays offer long-time readers insight into the experiences that helped Lippman become one of the most successful crime novelists of her generation.

With great powers come great repercussions In the aftermath of her victory over the dark god Morok, Claire Emerson is ready for some well-earned peace and quiet, and for some healing time with her protector, Lucan. But tranquility evaporates when an ancient god arrives on her doorstep demanding sanctuary–and blaming Claire. Claire’s final battle with Morok tore apart the very fabric that separated the worlds, and now the Between is devouring the Otherworld, leaving the gods no choice but to flee to Earth. The chaos that follows them turns Claire’s entire world upside down. Again. Repairing the damage she caused while keeping a bunch of unruly deities in line won’t be easy, but she’s up to the challenge–until she learns that one of the deities is Morok, whose defeat wasn’t as complete as she believed. Now, with her magick spread increasingly thin, Claire has no choice but to again fight a war she thought she’d already won. And this time, Morok isn’t alone–but neither is she. As alliances form and new enemies emerge, will Claire’s struggle to restore balance be enough to save the world? Or will it plunge them all into utter annihilation?

Whether played on the exotic felt tabletop in a palatial casino, or on the rough-hewn bar in a tavern's smoky din, the game of Gwent is never a dull one! With cards that feature fantastic art that only adds to the strategic thrill of crushing one's opponent, Gwent: The Witcher Card Game offers a singular gaming experience. Now, Dark Horse is proud to present each cards' gorgeous artwork in a stunning hardbound volume. Celebrate wondrous artistry and cutthroat gameplay with The Gwent Gallery: Art of the Witcher Card Game!

She wanted purpose. She got dark magick and war. Claire Emerson is adrift. After a lifetime as a wife, mother, and grandma, she never saw divorce or loneliness coming and is desperate for some sense of purpose. But when her sixtieth birthday brings a snarky gargoyle, an annoyingly sexy wolf shifter, and an unknown magical calling, she thinks she's losing the only thing she has left: her sanity. Refusing to believe she's the powerful defender of humankind her so-called protectors claim, Claire attempts a return to her safe life... only to have her powers ignite when she's attacked by dark supernatural creatures. And without the training she was supposed to have received, she has no idea how she'll defeat sinister mages plotting her demise. Can Claire overcome creaky joints and major hot flashes in time to save the world - and her own life?

Game of Thrones, one of the hottest series on television, leaves hundreds of critics divided on how "feminist" the show really is. Certainly the female characters, strong and weak, embody a variety of archetypes--widow queens, warrior women, damsels in distress, career women, priestesses, crones, mothers and maidens. However, the problem is that most of them play a single role without nuance--even the "strong women" have little to do besides strut about as one-note characters. This book analyzes the women and their portrayals one by one, along with their historical inspirations. Accompanying issues in television studies also appear, from the male gaze to depiction of race. How these characters are treated in the series and how they treat themselves becomes central, as many strip for the pleasure of men or are sacrificed as pawns. Some nude scenes or moments of male violence are fetishized and filmed to tantalize, while others show the women's trauma and attempt to identify with the scene's female perspective. The key is whether the characters break out of their traditional roles and become multidimensional.

She's running out of time. And so is the world. Claire Emerson is up against the clock. After learning on her sixtieth birthday that she’s one of four Crones destined to save the world, she’s been desperately trying to acquire the lifetime of magic she missed out on. But the mages who are out to destroy everything she loves aren’t waiting, and when one of the other Crones ends up on Claire’s doorstep—wounded and unconscious—Claire knows she’s out of time. Leaving the safety of her house, she goes in search of the remaining Crones… only to find them under siege by the mages and the nearly indestructible monster they control. And without control over her powerful elemental magic, she has no idea how to rescue them. Can Claire harness her powers in time to help her fellow Crones defeat the mages—or will her efforts bring even greater disaster?

She thought she’d won—but the war has only just started. When Claire Emerson imprisoned Morok in the Camlann fragment of the world, it should have been the end of the dark god—and of the war between him and the Crones. But when Lucan, her protector, is accidentally trapped along with the god, Claire is determined to rescue him. She’ll have to travel through the treacherous god realm—alone—to get to him. And that’s just the first hurdle. The bigger problem? The magick of an ancient Crone is hidden in the fragment, and if Morok discovers it, he’ll have enough power to break free and carry out his plan to destroy Claire’s entire world and all that she loves. Can Claire save Lucan and find the Crone magic before Morok does? Or will she have to choose between the shifter she’s come to love and the power she never asked for in the first place?

Get ready for more magic, mayhem, and monstruos! From Claribel A. Ortega, author of Frizzy and Ghost Squad, comes the sequel to the instant New York Times bestselling and #1 Indie bestselling Witchlings. Every four years, the Twelve Towns gather for a legendary magical tournament--the Golden Frog Games. With Ravenskill hosting this year's games, all eyes are on Seven Salazar, Valley Pepperhorn and Thorn Laroux: the most famous Spares in the Twelve Towns. Thorn is ready to compete as a fashion champion, but when a forbidden hex is used to turn her fellow champions to stone, suspicion lands on the Witchlings. As the Witchlings attempt to unravel the mystery of the stonifications, future Uncle Seven is harboring a dangerous secret: While she's supposed to be able to communicate with animals, the voices she hears most clearly belong to monstruos, and one spine-chilling voice is the loudest of all. Can Seven fix her broken magic and find out who is stonifying the champions . . . before Thorn becomes the next victim?

For the first time, all five novels in the epic fantasy series that inspired HBO’s Game of Thrones are together in one eBook bundle. An immersive entertainment experience unlike any other, A Song of Ice and Fire has earned George R. R. Martin—dubbed “the American Tolkien” by Time magazine—international acclaim and millions of loyal readers. Now this bundle collects the entire monumental cycle in the most convenient format available: A GAME OF THRONES A CLASH OF KINGS A STORM OF SWORDS A FEAST FOR CROWS A DANCE WITH DRAGONS “One of the best series in the history of fantasy.”—Los Angeles Times Winter is coming. Such is the stern motto of House Stark, the northernmost of the fiefdoms that owe allegiance to King Robert Baratheon in far-off King’s Landing. There Eddard Stark of Winterfell rules in Robert’s name. There his family dwells in peace and comfort: his proud wife, Catelyn; his sons Robb, Brandon, and Rickon; his daughters Sansa and Arya; and his bastard son, Jon Snow. Far to the north, behind the towering Wall, lie savage Wildings and worse—unnatural things relegated to myth during the centuries-long summer, but proving all too real and all too deadly in the turning of the season. Yet a more immediate threat lurks to the south, where Jon Arryn, the Hand of the King, has died under mysterious circumstances. Now Robert is riding north to Winterfell, bringing his queen, the lovely but cold Cersei, his son, the cruel, vainglorious Prince Joffrey, and the queen’s brothers Jaime and Tyrion of the powerful and wealthy House Lannister—the first a swordsman without equal, the second a dwarf whose stunted stature belies a brilliant mind. All are heading for Winterfell and a fateful encounter that will change the course of kingdoms. Meanwhile, across the Narrow Sea, Prince Viserys, heir of the fallen House Targaryen, which once ruled all of Westeros, schemes to reclaim the throne with an army of barbarian Dothraki—whose loyalty he will purchase in the only coin left to him: his beautiful yet innocent sister, Daenerys. “Long live George Martin . . . a literary dervish, enthralled by complicated characters and vivid language, and bursting with the wild vision of the very best tale tellers.”—The New York Times