The first book in a new trilogy. When 15-year-old Beck Phillips travels by train to the secluded village of Kingsplot to live with his wealthy but estranged uncle, Beck discovers some dark family secrets.

I was promised against my will to an empirical general. . .so I escaped. Right into the arms of an even more ruthless Vandar warlord. I'd thought things had been bad when I'd been ordered to marry the repulsive Zagrath general. But then I'd been captured by the empire's most deadly enemy--the Vandar raiders. With their battle kilts and tails, the raiders are known for being fierce warriors who never take prisoners. Until now. The fear I feel when I am taken by the menacing Vandar warlord is confirmed when I discover why he treats me like an honored guest. Taking the general's bride is one thing, but to strike the most personal blow the Vandar must claim me as his, taking me to his bed until his mating marks appear on my skin and mark me as his true mate. But he has no intention of forcing me. He wants to make a deal-become his willingly and I will get what I've always wanted-my freedom from a loveless, arranged marriage. Can I agree to a deal with the darkly dominant warlord who stokes both my fear and desire? Even if being claimed by the Vandar is only revenge for him and freedom for me, will my heart remain untouched as he pillages my body? And will the general give me up so easily, or will he come for both of us with all the firepower of the empire?

Who were the world’s most successful pirates, and why? “Interesting and very readable . . . Little clearly knows his subject well.” —International Journal of Naval History More than just simple retellings of tried-and-true stories of buccaneers on the high seas, this book focuses on pirating tactics of the 1500s through the 1800s to give an in-depth view of how pirates functioned through history. Stories of the thirteen most famous pirates as they raid major ships and pillage coastal villages reveal how the pirates approached such invasions—and how they managed to elude authorities and sometimes whole navies. In addition, vivid firsthand descriptions recreate the excitement, fear, and fury of the most famous raids by these outlaws of the ocean. Delving deep to show piracy’s profound impact on trade, politics, military strategy, culture, and individual lives, the book sifts truth from myth, carefully reconstructs the geopolitical context of each story, and analyzes the tactics that brought the pirates glory, or led to their downfall. Also included are archival images gathered from around the world by the author, a former Navy SEAL and consultant on maritime security.

"In the United States of Amoeba, Amoebans have always been ready to judge who is an Amoeban and who isn't. First generation have always been looked at as outsiders, immigrants, scum. Islanders, being the brains of Amoeba, take this even further. To them I will always be an immigrant. Not just an immigrant, a Mexican. Spic. Wetback. If the Natives had their way the GW, Williamsburg, and Brooklyn would be drawbridges. The Lincoln and Midtown blown up. They are forced to accept the notion of coexistence, but are always quick on the trigger of subtle reminding. I grew up here son or back in the day. Yeah, and forever shall you stay here. Son. Your island, your prison. Without your tired-ass references, what the hell have you got? Alcatraz east. And when a Native dares leave the Island don't think they go five goddamn minutes without letting all comers know their derivation. If it isn't back in the day it's some uptown Native dropping private school names. To them I am forever a Mexican. Fucking bring it." -Brantly Martin, Pillage The love child of Charles Bukowski and Bret Easton Ellis, Brantly Martin provides a brutal yet hilarious look at the lives of Manhattan's downtown elite at the dawn of the new millennium in Pillage, his first novel. Detailing the decadent descent of Cracula and his crew, Martin lures us into the shadowy ambiguities of addiction-a world where desire meets destruction and the perversity of this pathos is often laughable. Be it urban wildebeest Aeronymous, the wigga with a taste for BAPE sweaters and iced coffees; the Fireman, the overgrown adolescent who knows the quickest way to your ex-girlfriend's bed; or the Reverend, who rejected the sins of his brothers to save the Africans from themselves, the entitled creatures of this novel plunder what remains of a once-vibrant culture and reap the spoils of our languorous generation. Between eight balls of cocaine and pints of Patrón, Cracula fluctuates between reality and fantasy, hyper-aware of the façades, formulas, and falsehoods that encircle his existence, but unable to gain an advantage. Pillage reveals the inherent hypocrisy of America's social and economic achievements, as they are made manifest in the city that never sleeps, slyly implying that triumph is a trap in itself-and the only way out? Just ask Kurt Cobain... "Brantly brings new meaning to clubland's term, 'happy house.' Pillage is a wonderfully written, hilarious tragedy set in the playgrounds of the avant garde, sure to break if not bend some well known noses. I laughed and cried from cover to cover. " -Mark Baker, the Godfather of New York nightlife

Since its U.S. debut a quarter-century ago, this brilliant text has set a new standard for historical scholarship of Latin America. It is also an outstanding political economy, a social and cultural narrative of the highest quality, and perhaps the finest description of primitive capital accumulation since Marx. Rather than chronology, geography, or political successions, Eduardo Galeano has organized the various facets of Latin American history according to the patterns of five centuries of exploitation. Thus he is concerned with gold and silver, cacao and cotton, rubber and coffee, fruit, hides and wool, petroleum, iron, nickel, manganese, copper, aluminum ore, nitrates, and tin. These are the veins which he traces through the body of the entire continent, up to the Rio Grande and throughout the Caribbean, and all the way to their open ends where they empty into the coffers of wealth in the United States and Europe. Weaving fact and imagery into a rich tapestry, Galeano fuses scientific analysis with the passions of a plundered and suffering people. An immense gathering of materials is framed with a vigorous style that never falters in its command of themes. All readers interested in great historical, economic, political, and social writing will find a singular analytical achievement, and an overwhelming narrative that makes history speak, unforgettably. This classic is now further honored by Isabel Allende's inspiring introduction. Universally recognized as one of the most important writers of our time, Allende once again contributes her talents to literature, to political principles, and to enlightenment.

Using his renowned lack of common sense, fifteen-year-old Beck Phillips gets himself and his friends Kate and Wyatt embroiled in more dragon adventures, as they discover and hatch the last remaining dragon stone.

Rape Loot Pillage offers a new framework for understanding conflict-related sexual violence based on feminist international political economy. By looking at patterns of contemporary conflict, this book proposes a new typology of wartime sexual violence that ties the 'value' of this violence to the politico-economic objectives of the perpetrators in different conflict contexts.

Piracy, Pillage, and Plunder in Antiquity explores appropriation in its broadest terns in the ancient world, from brigands, mercenaries and state-sponsored "piracy", to literary appropriation and the modern plundering of antiquities. The chronological extent of the studies in this volume, written by an international group of experts, ranges from about 2000 BCE to the 20th century. The geographical spectrum in similarly diverse, encompassing Africa, the Mediterranean, and Mesopotamia, allowing readers to track this phenomenon in various different manifestations. Predatory behaviour is a phenomenon seen in all walks of life. While violence may often be concomitant it is worth observing that predation can be extremely nuanced in its application, and it is precisely this gradation and its focus that occupies the essential issue in this volume. Piracy, Pillage, and Plunder in Antiquity will be of great interest to those studying a range of topics in antiquity, including literature and art, cities and their foundations, crime, warfare, and geography.

Plenty of fast-paced action by lawless pillagers and opportunists.

This introductory survey to maritime predation in the Americas from the age of Columbus to the reign of the Spanish king Philip V includes piracy, privateering (state-sponsored sea-robbery), and genuine warfare carried out by professional navies.