The dramatic saga continues for the Polynesian realms as the cataclysmic showdown between Knight Squad and the Tunui reveal a terrible secret which may threaten the continuity of an entire realm. As Saint and his Tagaloa brethren are thrown into one devastating revelation after another, Priest and Nether realm fight to maintain balance for the survival of their legacies. Alliances grow strained due to Chaos’s evil influence over the other gods and war becomes imminent. Other realms are introduced to solidify alliances, but at a cost. Will Knight Squad see it through to save one of their own before it destroys everything they know? Such is the game of the Cosmos.

“...” “Deuce? Did it help?” “...” “Deuces...Manuia?!” Deuce sniffed before finally answering. “I did a terrible thing. MIB and Chaos used me to do something horrible to Angelica. I’m gonna go now before I manifest and kill myself, okay? Wouldn’t wanna go out like a Divine god. I deserve something way less honorable than that. Thanks for the memories, uso...” The line went dead and Silex immediately phoned Priest for an emergency Code: Black. It was code for a suicide advisory call. Right after he got off the line with Silex, Priest exhaled in utter frustration and made the call to Loto. “I need us to break protocol on this. I know we were supposed to play it legit this mission, but this situation is totally off the record right now and it takes precedence, brother. I think Deuce endured the same thing you did with the Sprite Queen. But the situation was at the Boneyard during Florida and Angelica’s incident. He was ‘urged’ by a third party, possibly Tunui or Chaos. MIB had their hands in it as well. I’ll explain more later... Be at the hotel in five minutes,” muttered Priest. “I’m on my way right now!” advised Loto.

The chorus of frightening voices began to cackle maniacally and chanted in a strange language. Diana picked up the fruit but dropped it when it burned her hand to the touch. To Greta’s horror, an upside-down cross was beginning to sear into the palm of Diana’s hand. Her eyes were solid white before she crumpled to the ground. “AHHH... FRESH MEAT, SO SWEET. WE’LL MAKE THE GODDESS PURR... PURR... PURR!” sniggered the evil being in a cacophony of guttural sounds. It took all the courage inside Greta to leap onto the levitated bed. While she struggled with the entity possessing her teammate, she was amazingly able to force the blood amulet over the demon’s neck. In that instant, the bed slammed to the ground. Diana sat up looking quite dazed as well. Greta inspected them before breaking her silence. “Are you both okay?” Shade was sobbing. “What happened? Why am I tied up? Please untie me. I’m so scared.” Diana was about to release Shade, but Greta immediately grew concerned. She wisely chose to keep it to herself because Diana still had the telling mark on her hand. I need to get Priest. He’s the only person who can fix this issue religiously.

The Strange World of Human Sacrifice is the first modern collection of studies on one of the most gruesome and intriguing aspects of religion. The volume starts with a brief introduction, which is followed by studies of Aztec human sacrifice and the literary motif of human sacrifice in medieval Irish literature. Turning to ancient Greece, three cases of human sacrifice are analysed: a ritual example, a mythical case, and one in which myth and ritual are interrelated. The early Christians were the victims of accusations of human sacrifice, but in turn imputed the crime to heterodox Christians, just as the Jews imputed the crime to their neighbours. The ancient Egyptians rarely seem to have practised human sacrifice, but buried the pharaoh's servants with him in order to serve him in the afterlife, albeit only for a brief period at the very beginning of pharaonic civilization. In ancient India we can follow the traditions of human sacrifice from the earliest texts up to modern times, where especially in eastern India goddesses, such as Kali, were long worshipped with human victims. In Japanese tales human sacrifice often takes the form of self-sacrifice, and there may well be a line from these early sacrifices to modern kamikaze. The last study throws a surprising light on human sacrifice in China. The volume is concluded with a detailed index

Florida Desterrados is a typical 16-year-old, utterly bored with her mundane existence. However, the assumingly ordinary life she is living, will soon be turned upside down following a traumatic event. Florida's ordeal suddenly becomes a catalyst to eventual violence and death. Out of a desperate will to survive at all costs, she will need to learn of the secrets and lies regarding her family's tragic history from a stranger; a priest with a dark sordid past who reveals himself to be her father's twin brother. Her family was not at all as they seemed. Full of intrigue, action, eroticism, fantasy, suspense, and forbidden romance. Welcome to the world of the Gods of Desterrados Series, and the legacy of the gods.

Rocko stood up, approaching Sinner and Saint menacingly. "E mafai ona e tau mai ia te au lou uso laitiiti pe aisea na 'auina mai ai au e le tam? ‘Can you tell me my little brothers, why father sent me away?’" Sinner and Saint flinched and immediately blinked in disbelief. "Tilesa told me everything. If I find out you two knew anything about this, I'm gonna kill you both!" Rocko snapped. Sinner confronted Rocko through his simmering expression of defiance. Saint was also fuming before he offered a retort. "I dunno what kinda joke you're trying to pull on our kind--" Rocko abruptly seized Saint's wrist. Sinner cocked his fist back to deal a blow to Rocko's face. But before Sinner could connect, Rocko slammed both of them to the ground on their stomachs. He bent down and whispered in their ears. "Take your essence back, pu ki'o, ‘asshole!’ You’re lucky I didn't screw your wife because she's not a part of this, little brother. You two are going with me to waste Lilia for killing my children and then I'm going after Malosi. E te faalogo mai ia te au? ‘Do you hear me?’"

W. B. Yeats and Fernando Pessoa (1888-1935) regarded style as a tool for metaphysical inquiry and, consequently, they adopted distinct poetic styles to convey different attitudes towards experience. Silva-McNeill's study examines how the poets' stylistic diversification was a means of rehearsing different existential and aesthetic stances. It identifies parallels between their styles from a comparative case studies approach. Their stylistic masks allowed them to maintain the subjectivity and authenticity associated with the lyrical genre, while simultaneously attaining greater objectivity and conveying multiple perspectives. The poets continuously transformed the fond and form of their verse, creating a protean lyrical voice that expressed their multilateral poetic temperament and reflected the depersonalisation and formal experimentalism of the modern lyric.

Deconstructing Paradise investigates Christian symbols that appear in Latin American Literature in an inverted way. The texts under investigation invert the Christian center to generate a social, political, cultural, or even artistic commentary. In doing so, each text underscores a search for meaning that rejects the centering presence of the more traditional Christian focus that has long validated humankind’s existence both in society and in literature. As Deconstructing Paradise examines, finding a unified center around which to construct meaning is no longer possible, although the search for meaning persists in the inverted Christian center. The first three chapters analyze the trifecta of novels that offer a full allegory of inverted Christian symbolism including: Miguel Ángel Asturias’ El Señor Presidente; Juan Rulfo’s Pedro Páramo and José Donoso’s El lugar sin límites. Chapters Four and Five focus on inverted Christ and inverted Judas figures in multiple novels and short fiction. As many Latin American literary critics affirm, it is increasingly difficult to categorize fiction after the Boom, although even the usefulness of these categories is ultimately questionable. Literary critics now look for patterns and Deconstructing Paradise offers one such pattern by identifying a trend in an impressive scope of the well-known authors of twentieth-century Latin American literature, while also tracing this pattern back to nineteenth-century precursors. Deconstructing Paradise offers a unique and comprehensive look at a significant trend that will undoubtedly foment new ideas and paths of study in contemporary Latin American literature.

This is a sequel to the book, Gods of Desterrados, The Banished Ones.

This volume features approximately 600 entries that represent the major writers, literary schools, and cultural movements in the history of Mexican literature. A collaborative effort by American, Mexican, and Hispanic scholars, the text contains bibliographical, biographical, and critical material--placing each work cited within its cultural and historical framework. Intended to enrich the English-speaking public's appreciation of the rich diversity of Mexican literature, works are selected on the basis of their contribution toward an understanding of this unique artistry. The dictionary contains entries keyed by author and works, the length of each entry determined by the relative significance of the writer or movement being discussed. Each biographical entry identifies the author's literary contribution by including facts about his or her life and works, a chronological list of works, a supplementary bibliography, and, when appropriate, critical notes. Authors are listed alphabetically and cross-referenced both within the text and the index to facilitate easy access to information. Selected bibliographical entries are also listed alphabetically by author and include both the original title and English translation, publisher, date and place of publication, and number of pages.