The Prince and the Monk addresses the historical development of the political and religious myths surrounding Shōtoku Taishi and their influence on Shinran, the founder of the Jōdo-Shinshū school of Pure Land Buddhism. Shōtoku Taishi (574–622) was a prince who led the campaign to unify Japan, wrote the imperial constitution, and promoted Buddhism as a religion of peace and prosperity. Shinran's Buddhism developed centuries later during the Kamakura period, which began in the late twelfth century. Kenneth Doo Young Lee discusses Shinran's liturgical text, his dream of Shōtoku's manifestation as Kannon (the world-saving Bodhisattva of Compassion), and other relevant events during his life. In addition, this book shows that Shinran's Buddhism was consistent with honji suijaku culture—the synthesis of the Shinto and Buddhist pantheons—prevalent during the Kamakura period.

Athiyaman, a hardened warrior, fearsome to his enemies and magnanimous to those he favoured. Kumanan, a king so benevolent that he was even willing to sacrifice his own life for another. The poet Pisiraandaiyar, who stood by his royal friend Kopperuncholan even in the worst of times. And Avvaiyar, a venerable woman poet, respected by rulers and subjects alike. This colourful and powerful cast of characters comes together in The Prince Who Became a Monk and Other Stories from Tamil Literature. Selected and translated by Sahitya Akademi award-winner M.L. Thangappa, the stories in this volume were originally poems written by famed Tamil poets belonging to a time when kings and poets equalled each other in authority and respect, and when valour and talent were considered the greatest virtues. These tales celebrate family, friendships and bonds that survive the tests of distance and time, bringing to the fore historical figures who depict faith, humility and kindness. Through delicately woven imagery and subtly imparted wisdom, this collection of more than 35 stories brings alive an era of glory, and the poets who immortalized it in their words.

After twenty years of searching, King Waluyo finally gets his son back. He cannot understand why his beloved younger wife had insisted that their son become a monk. What was she hiding from him? Why did she want to separate their only child from him? When he learns that Alak Tegoh the crown prince is not his biological son, he realises that Queen Megabintang may have poisoned his other children. To protect his only living child and the people of his kingdom, Waluyo must use all his political acumen. His biggest hurdle, however, is Parantapa's attitude towards politics and war. Can he persuade his son to relinquish his Buddhistic upbringing of non-violence? Or will he fail and see all that he has built fall into the hands of his brother-in-law, King Jayagapor?

The bizarre imagination and stylistic sorcery of Matthew Phipps Shiel have created several sleuths unique in the annals of criminal detection. The author's first published book introduced the mysterious Russian, Prince Zaleski, while his legendary Pale Ape collection present ed a second extraordinary figure, Cummings King Monk. The complete exploits of both detectives are collected here for the first time between two covers -- "The Race of Orven, " "The Stone of the Edmundsbury Monks, " "The S.S., " "The Return of Prince Zaleski, " "He Meddles with Women, " "He Defines 'Greatness of Mind, " and "He Wakes an Echo."

As a vast Holy War begins, a powerful new force emerges in the second book of this “violent, passionate, darkly poetic” fantasy series (SFSite.com). The first battle against the heathen has been won, but while the Great Names squabble over the spoils, Kellhus draws more followers to his banner. The sorcerer Achamian and his lover, Esmenet, submit entirely—only to face an unimaginable test of faith. The warrior Cnaiur falls ever deeper into madness. The skin-spies of the Consult watch with growing trepidation. And across the searing wastes of the desert, a name—a title—begins to be whispered among the faithful. Who is the Warrior-Prophet? A dangerous heretic who turns brother against brother? Or the only man who can avert the Second Apocalypse? With the fate of the Holy War hanging in the balance, the great powers will have to choose between their most desperate desires and their most ingrained prejudice. Between hatred and hope. Between the Warrior-Prophet and the end of the world . . .

When Countess Zorah Rostova asks London barrister Sir Oliver Rathbone to defend her against a charge of slander, he is astonished to find himself accepting. For without a shred of evidence, the countess has publicly insisted that the onetime ruler of her small German principality was murdered by his wife, the woman who was responsible for the prince’s exile to Venice twenty years before. Private investigator William Monk and his friend Hester Latterly journey to the City of Water in an attempt verify the countess’s claims, and though the two manage to establish that the prince was indeed murdered, as events unfold the likeliest suspect seems to be Countess Zorah herself.

A book about how to make work pay and not just in cash, but in experience, satiafaction, and joy.

In Bones around My Neck, Tamara Loos recounts the personal and political adventures of Prince Prisdang Chumsai (1852-1935), who served as Siam's first diplomat to Europe during the most dramatic moment of Siam's political history.

Destiny always finds a way. Princess Leandra has been kidnapped, and only Aaron can save her. Once the kingdom’s most celebrated warrior, Aaron left behind the life of a swordsman to become a monk. But when his brother, the Captain of the Guard, pleads for his help, Aaron is forced to take up his sword again to rescue the princess from a dangerous foe—one only he has faced and survived. Can Aaron defy the odds and win a second time? Princess Leandra may have lived a sheltered life behind the kingdom’s walls, but she refuses to play the helpless damsel. From the moment she wakes in her captor's lair, she begins plotting her escape. Will her courage and wit be enough to break free? Find out what fate has in store for the brave Princess and the reluctant Monk in this tale of rescue, resilience, and redemption.

BOOK ONE IN THE BROKEN EMPIRE TRILOGY “Prince of Thorns deserves attention as the work of an iconoclast who seems determined to turn that familiar thing, Medievalesque Fantasy Trilogy, entirely on its head.”—Locus When he was nine, he watched as his mother and brother were killed before him. By the time he was thirteen, he was the leader of a band of bloodthirsty thugs. By fifteen, he intends to be king... It’s time for Prince Honorous Jorg Ancrath to return to the castle he turned his back on, to take what’s rightfully his. Since the day he hung pinned on the thorns of a briar patch and watched Count Renar’s men slaughter his mother and young brother, Jorg has been driven to vent his rage. Life and death are no more than a game to him—and he has nothing left to lose. But treachery awaits him in his father’s castle. Treachery and dark magic. No matter how fierce his will, can one young man conquer enemies with power beyond his imagining?