Effie, Wolf, Raven, and Max are faced with their most challenging adventure yet in the third installment of the magical Worldquake series, which Kirkus Reviews calls “tailor-made for Harry Potter’s fans.” Effie Truelove and her school friends Lexy, Wolf, Maximilian, and Raven must put their magical skills to the test. The Diberi, a corrupt organization intent on destroying the world, has returned and has something sinister planned at Midwinter. But during a visit to the Otherworld, Effie is mistaken and imprisoned for being a galloglass—a dangerous, selfish islander. Meanwhile, Lexy is threatened by the vile professor Jupiter Peacock and Wolf embarks on a perilous journey to find his missing sister. And back at school, Neptune the cat is bored. He’s used to lording over the other stray cats, but they’ve all mysteriously vanished. Where could they be—and how will he find them? Can Effie and her friends reunite before their universe ceases to exist?

This volume contains the proceedings of a recent Edinburgh conference at which scholars discussed the intersection of Scottish and Irish politics and culture in the later Middle Ages. It was a world epitomized by the neglected figure of the galloglass and several of the papers explore the role of these West Highland dynasties and their rapid proliferation throughout Ireland from the late thirteenth century onwards, but the volume also examines the high politics of Scottish royal involvement in Ireland, and the common culture of Gaeldom, particularly as manifested in the corpus of surviving bardic verse. Contributors include: Steve Boardman, David Caldwell, Alison Cathcart, Seán Duffy, David Edwards, Wilson McLeod, Kenneth Nicholls, Alasdair Ross, Katharine Simms, and Alex Woolf.

Galloglass, from the Gaelic gall_glaigh for 'young foreign warriors', were mercenaries from the Western Isles of Scotland who fought in the retinues of Irish magnates from the mid-13th century until the early 17th century. Without question, galloglass are among the most visually impressive warriors of all time: they were sketched by Albrecht D_rer, were mentioned by Shakespeare, and were discussed with awe and amazement in the correspondence of all the leading Elizabethan soldiers who served in Ireland. Thousands fought in Ireland, and yet so far there has been only one detailed account of the galloglass, and this work concentrates on the clan and family structures of the galloglass, and not their experience as warriors. This book provides the first detailed military history of these fearsome warriors.

Exiles is an epic Irish historical fiction Exiles series. It is set against the backdrop of the Elizabethan wars in Ireland in the 1590s. A world of Irish clans, their politics and the fight for supremacy, where spies and intrigue prosper, where the embers burn for a rebellion against the English crown. If you love fast-paced action and adventure orientated historical fiction, then you will love these books. Buy Exiles box set 1-3 to discover this exciting new series today. This digital box set contains the first, second and third books in the Exiles series. Bad blood ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ "Bad Blood is a fantastic historical fiction novel that does not shy away from the dark complications of the world," - Reedsy Discovery Uprising: two kingdoms, one wedding and the hangman’s noose ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ “a real page-turner that leaves readers wanting more,” “The conflict between the Crown and natives is brilliantly and elaborately written, the characters are rock-solid and relatable, and the plot is twisty as it can get,” – The Book Commentary ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ “This is the second book in the series and like the first one it has a lot of historical events. I enjoy reading stories like this, it is fast paced and adventurous and it holds your attention to the end. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys reading historical fiction,” – Reader review Traitor Maguire ★★★★ “A must read addition to the Exiles series that leaves you wanting more,” "has to be the most exciting of the books so far." - Reedsy Discovery

“This middle grade series starter is tailor-made for Harry Potter’s fans.” —Kirkus Reviews For fans of the Land of Stories and the Wings of Fire Series, this first enchanting adventure from acclaimed novelist Scarlett Thomas is set in a wondrous realm where magic most decidedly exists, a growing evil lurks, and a group of children is destined to save the world. Effie Truelove believes in magic, as does her grandfather Griffin (although he refuses to do any magic, let alone teach Effie how to use it). After a mysterious incident leaves Griffin close to death, Effie is given an unusual silver ring and told she must look after her grandfather’s library of rare and powerful books. But then the books fall into the hands of shady scholar Leonard Levar, and Effie is propelled into the most dangerous adventure of her life. Now, Effie and her friends—nerdy Maximilian, rugby-mad Wolf, helpful Lexy, and eccentric Raven—must discover their true powers if they are to get the books back. And Effie alone will have to travel to the Otherworld, where she will uncover the true meaning of the strange old book called Dragon’s Green…

The brief mention of the galloglas in Shakespeare's Macbeth typifies the attention that this warrior-class has recieved from historians and playwrights alike. This class of mercenary warrior originated in the Hebrides and western isles of Scotland but went on to play an important role in Irish history from the late 13th to 15th century.

Effie and her gifted friends—Raven, Maximillian, Lexy, and Wolf—embark on another adventure to save the world from the evil Diberi. The second book in the magical Worldquake series, that’s “tailor-made for Harry Potter’s fans” (Kirkus Reviews), will leave you utterly entranced. Effie Truelove has just been expelled from magic class and now she can’t even get back to the Otherworld—the place she most loves and where she feels she belongs. If she can find a copy of The Chosen Ones by Laurel Wilde to give her father then she might be able to fix everything. The only problem is that there are suddenly no copies of the book anywhere, because Albion Freake, the richest man in the world, is paying for them to be destroyed so that he can own the single-volume limited edition that publisher Skylurian Midzhar is making for him. Raven Wilde’s witch’s intuition tells her there’s something suspicious about Skykurian’s plan, but she’s not sure what it is. And Maximilian has somehow managed to go missing deep in Napoleonic Europe. Will the five friends from Dragon’s Green—Effie, Raven, Maximilian, Lexy, and Wolf—be able to combine their skills again to save the world from the Diberi? And can they get away from Terrence Deer-Hart, the children’s author who seems a bit too interested in Effie’s life?

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ "Bad Blood is a fantastic historical fiction novel that does not shy away from the dark complications of the world," - Reedsy Discovery ★ ★ ★ ★ ⋆ (4.5 stars) “Bad Blood is a riveting page turner with well-developed characters and vivid descriptions, transporting the reader back to a more violent, unsettled time in history,” – The Historical Fiction Company A gripping, fast-paced historical fiction adventure set in rebellious Ireland in the 1590s. Eunan Maguire lives in a small village in Fermanagh. He is mistreated by his parents and then taken to Enniskillen as a hostage to ensure his father’s loyalty. He returns after being trained as a Galloglass warrior to confront his parents and to ensure his father pledges to the prospective new Maguire. But before he can do that the English raid his village, his parents are killed, he flees to save himself, and he blames himself for their death. When he flees he meets Seamus MacSheehy, the head of a wandering band of Galloglass warriors. Seamus listens to his story and encourages him to take his father’s title of the head of the village. Eunan goes to the election of the new leader of the Maguire clan to claim his father’s voting rights. With Seamus’s guidance, he sets out to ingratiate himself with the new Maguire. But all is not well for Eunan is wracked with guilt because of the death of his parents and Seamus is not all he appears. Fermanagh is torn apart by faction fighting and the English invade. He is called to fight for the new Maguire. Will Eunan find out why his parents hated him so much and was it connected to the mysterious circumstances around their death? Will Eunan discover who Seamus MacSheehy really is and why he has taken such an interest in him? Or will the clan fall and perish under the English onslaught? Bad Blood is the first book in the epic Irish historical fiction Exiles series. It is set against the backdrop of the Elizabethan wars in Ireland in the 1590s. A world of Irish clans, their politics and the fight for supremacy, where spies and intrigue prosper, where the embers burn for a rebellion against the English crown. If you love fast-paced action and adventure orientated historical fiction, then you will love this book. Buy Bad Blood to discover this exciting new series today.

Mercenaries have been active in battle from the beginning of military history and, as private armies and military support firms, they are a major component of warfare today. Security, military advice, training, logistics support, policing, technological expertise, intelligence, transportation—all are outsourced to a greater or lesser degree in the U.S. military. However, privatization is not a uniquely American phenomenon. Countries as diverse as Saudi Arabia and Australia rely on privatization in one form or another. Historically, heads of state, politicians, and other administrators have justified use of mercenaries on the basis of their effectiveness, and cost-savings. These reasons and others continue to serve as rationales for use of private military companies in military strategy. Mercenaries: A Guide to Private Armies and Private Military Companies provides a comprehensive survey and guide to mercenary forces, entrepreneurs, and corporations active on the international military scene today, including a concise history of mercenaries and private armies on land, sea, and in the air. Narrative chapters are amply supplemented by sidebars including biographies of major figures, key statistics, historical and current documents, contracts, and legislation on private armies and outsourced military services. Each chapter includes a bibliography of books, journal articles, and web sites, and a general bibliography concludes the entire work.

Through violent incursions by the Vikings and the spread of Christianity, medieval Ireland maintained a distinctive Gaelic identity. From the sacred site of Tara to the manuscript illuminations in the Book of Kells, Anglo-Irish relations to the Connachta dynasty, Ireland during the middle ages was a rich and vivid culture. First published in 2005, Medieval Ireland: An Encyclopedia brings together in one authoritative resource the multiple facets of life in Ireland before and after the Anglo-Norman invasion of 1169, from the sixth to sixteenth century. Multidisciplinary in coverage, this A-Z reference work provides information on historical events, economics, politics, the arts, religion, intellectual history, and many other aspects of the period. Written by the world's leading scholars on the subject, this highly accessible reference work will be of key interest to students, researchers, and general readers alike.