Desperate Queen Makes a Pact with a Serpent God in Epic Fantasy Adventure In a kingdom parched by drought and threatened by despair, Queen Amara faces an agonizing choice. Her people are suffering, and a relentless sun bakes the land. When whispers of a powerful serpent deity reach her ears, Amara makes a desperate bargain. In exchange for rain and prosperity, she agrees to a dark pact, but the consequences are far-reaching. A Twist on Power: Amara's bargain grants her kingdom life-saving water, but it also unleashes a chilling transformation within her. As the serpent's influence grows, her decisions become ruthless and cold, leaving her people questioning their once-beloved queen. Friendship and Sacrifice: Amara's loyal friend, Kaveri, becomes her confidante in this struggle. Witnessing the queen's transformation, Kaveri risks everything to find a way to sever the pact, even if it means sacrificing her own strength. Facing a Two-Fronted War: While Amara grapples with the serpent's influence within, a neighboring kingdom eyes Chola's newfound prosperity with suspicion, threatening war. Now, Amara must not only break free from the serpent's hold but also defend her kingdom from external forces. A Fractured Bond, An Uncertain Future: The ritual to sever the pact is successful, but it comes at a heavy price. Kaveri bears the scars of the serpent's influence, while Amara retains a lingering connection to the deity. As a tremor shakes the land and a monstrous sandstorm approaches, Amara must embrace this fractured bond and use her connection to the serpent to save her people and restore balance. Unveiling the Serpent Legacy: This epic fantasy adventure explores themes of power, sacrifice, and the blurred lines between humanity and divinity. Amara's journey is filled with heart-wrenching choices, unexpected alliances, and a revelation that challenges everything she thought she knew about herself. Will she remain a human queen or embrace the serpent legacy that now runs through her veins? The future of Chola hangs in the balance.

In a kingdom teetering on the brink of chaos, Kael, the Barbarian King, must confront treacherous nobles, dark sorcery, and his own inner demons to save Vinhia from destruction. As ancient magic awakens and monstrous threats emerge, Kael's journey from outsider to true leader will test the limits of his strength and reveal the power of his hidden heritage. With pulse-pounding action, political intrigue, and epic battles between good and evil, this gripping fantasy saga explores the weight of power and the true meaning of kingship. Will Kael's barbarian might and newfound wisdom be enough to secure his throne and protect his people from the shadows that threaten to engulf them all?

The Serpent’s Embrace is sought by many. Layla has protected the artifact for ages. One night, in an alley, men come to take it. Before the lamia has a chance to react, the bad boy she’s been avoiding jumps into action to help. Maybe he isn’t the sum of his past mistakes. There’s always more beneath the surface. Jordan is no stranger to guilt and regret. He’s moved on from his past and strives to be better and fears he’s not. As much as he’s drawn to Layla, he fears her judgment. She may be the only one to help him realize he’s so much more than what he was. Together, they find the strength to accept hidden truths. Jordan learns he is more than an incubus. Layla learns there is more to her trinket than death and destruction. And now a dark force wants them both, but for what purpose?

mbark on an epic journey through a realm where magic and destiny intertwine in "The Serpent's Labyrinth: Chronicles of the Astral Key." In a world where the balance between magic and mundane hangs by a fragile thread, a trio of unlikely heroes emerges to shape the course of history. Rylan, a modest blacksmith marked by the enigmatic Mark of the Astral, finds himself thrust into a destiny that defies the boundaries of his craft. Joined by Ariadne, a fierce warrior bound to the Key of Valor, and Elara, a reclusive mage attuned to the Key of Whispers, they forge an alliance bound by their shared quest—to unlock the power of the Serpent's Labyrinth. As they journey through realms both mystical and mundane, the trio encounters ancient prophecies, enigmatic councils, and forgotten magic. Their choices ripple through time, transforming a world once divided by magic's isolation into a harmonious tapestry of unity.

Named to ten BEST OF THE YEAR lists and selected as a William C. Morris Award Winner,The Serpent King is the critically acclaimed, much-beloved story of three teens who find themselves--and each other--while on the cusp of graduating from high school with hopes of leaving their small-town behind. Perfect for fans of John Green's Turtles All the Way Down. "Move over, John Green; Zentner is coming for you." —The New York Public Library “Will fill the infinite space that was left in your chest after you finished The Perks of Being a Wallflower.” —BookRiot.com Dill isn't the most popular kid at his rural Tennessee high school. After his father fell from grace in a public scandal that reverberated throughout their small town, Dill became a target. Fortunately, his two fellow misfits and best friends, Travis and Lydia, have his back. But as they begin their senior year, Dill feels the coils of his future tightening around him. His only escapes are music and his secret feelings for Lydia--neither of which he is brave enough to share. Graduation feels more like an ending to Dill than a beginning. But even before then, he must cope with another ending--one that will rock his life to the core. Debut novelist Jeff Zentner provides an unblinking and at times comic view of the hard realities of growing up in the Bible belt, and an intimate look at the struggles to find one’s true self in the wreckage of the past. “A story about friendship, family and forgiveness, it’s as funny and witty as it is utterly heartbreaking.” —PasteMagazine.com “A brutally honest portrayal of teen life . . . [and] a love letter to the South from a man who really understands it.” —Mashable.com “I adored all three of these characters and the way they talked to and loved one another.”—New York Times

Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things. Feared and worshiped in equal measure, snakes have captured the imagination of poets, painters, and philosophers for centuries. From Ice Age cave drawings to Snakes on a Plane, this creature continues to enthrall the public. But what harm has been caused by our mythologizing? While considering the dangers of stigma, Erica Wright moves from art and pop culture to religion, fetish, and ecologic disaster. This book considers how the snake has become more symbol than animal, a metaphor for how we treat whatever scares us the most, whether or not our panic is justified. Object Lessons is published in partnership with an essay series in the The Atlantic.

Shamanism can be defined as the practice of initiated shamans who are distinguished by their mastery of a range of altered states of consciousness. Shamanism arises from the actions the shaman takes in non-ordinary reality and the results of those actions in ordinary reality. It is not a religion, yet it demands spiritual discipline and personal sacrifice from the mature shaman who seeks the highest stages of mystical development.

The global prominence of snakes in religion, myth, and folklore underscores our deep connection to them—but why, when few of us have firsthand experience? The answer, Isbell suggests, lies in snakes’ singular impact on primate evolution; predation pressure from snakes is ultimately responsible for the superior vision and large brains of primates.

This anthology is a collection of spine-chilling narratives drawn from the darkest corners of the cosmos, where the laws of reality bend and twist, and the veil between the mundane and the macabre is perilously thin. Each tale serves as a portal to an otherworldly realm, where the inexplicable and the terrifying converge to weave a tapestry of cosmic horror. These stories are not bound by the limitations of our known universe; instead, they propel readers into the cosmic unknown, where the echoes of dread and the whispers of the eldritch dance in the shadows. As the curator of this ethereal compendium, I invite you, dear reader, to embark on a journey into the realms beyond the stars. Prepare to encounter malevolent entities, ancient forces, and unspeakable horrors that defy earthly comprehension. These stories are not for the faint of heart; they are tales that grip the soul and elicit a primal fear—a fear that resonates not only with the unknown lurking in the cosmos but also with the depths of the human psyche. In the following pages, you will traverse desolate planets shrouded in perpetual darkness, confront entities that defy the laws of nature, and witness the awakening of malevolent forces that have slumbered for eons. Each story is a portal to a different dimension, a glimpse into the cosmic nightmares that await those who dare to peer beyond the veil.

Meticulously pieced together from personal experiences that come with years of travel, an extensive knowledge of the historic and scholarly works, and a deep appreciation of Latin American art and culture—both ancient and modern—critically-acclaimed biographer Neil Baldwin has created a mosaic of words and images retelling the myth of the Plumed Serpent (or Quetzalcóatl) as it has evolved through the millennia. He has also created an essential guidebook for the armchair traveller and passionate tourist alike. Only a few hours by air from the United States are the mysteries and hauntingly beautiful ruins of Mexico. Among the vines intertwined in the frail latticework of crumbling palaces, spiraling geometric motifs covering vast walls that sink beneath the jungle, and nearly vertical temple steps leading hundreds of feet to a dizzying view of sky and earth, images of Quetzalcóatl abound. The fanged, bug-eyed feathered serpent thrusts his malevolent, sneering head from the pyramid at Teotihuacán; he swims in a river of rock around the temple at Xochicalco; and at Chichén Itzá, serpent and jaguar dance on a trail of stone, their embrace spawning a monstrous snake with clawed forefeet. Depicted as part man, snake, and bird, the Plumed Serpent is the earliest known creation myth from Mesoamerica, the region spanning Mexico and most of Central America. He embodies good and evil, sky and earth, feast and famine—the duality of life itself. Steep, massive temples were built in his honor at Teotihuacán, the vast city of ruins near today’s Mexico City, and at Chichén Itzá in northern Yucatán, the intricate complex that includes the famed ballcourt. Moctezuma, the ruler of the Aztecs, mistook Hernán Cortéz and the invasion of the Spanish in 1519 for the return of Quetzalcóatl. The Catholic Church with its army of Franciscan monks adapted his legend to introduce the indigenous people to Catholicism. The myth enhanced Emiliano Zapata’s stature as a latter-day Quetzalcóatl during the Mexican Revolution. Diego Rivera and the modern muralists invoked his image to include indigenous themes in their state-sponsored art. And Quetzalcóatl inspired English author D. H. Lawrence to write a new “American novel.” These and many other tales are recounted in the words and images of Neil Baldwin’s Legends of the Plumed Serpent. Whether sharing a moment of reflection among the breathtaking ruins, delving into the historic role of Quetzalcóatl during the Spanish Conquest, or tracing the themes of revolution and rebirth in the art of Rivera, Orozco, and Siqueiros, Neil Baldwin’s enlightening prose captures the imagination. Accompanied by numerous illustrations—many photographs taken by the author, and others painstakingly researched and gathered over the past decade—Legends of the Plumed Serpent is a true labor of love.