When it is discovered that his family has long been charged with hiding and protecting Erethindel, the fabulous Crimson Talisman, from the forces of darkness, one young man discovers that it has fallen to him to keep it safe, as the powers of the talisman are awakened within him. Original.

Losing the Crimson Sword in their attempt to continue the late Torin's efforts to unite their kingdom against a dire enemy, his best friend and former bride are unaware that Torin has been resuscitated by their enemy and possessed by an evil force.

Consumed by a thirst to unlock powerful dark magic, a sadistic killer stalks Deer Falls. Can Eric Olson overcome past trauma to save himself and the rest of the town from destruction? Six years have passed since Eric helped his older brother Ron defeat an ancient malevolent witch. A brush with death in that battle has left him with recurring hallucinations. While struggling to heal from his mental scars, Eric is confronted with a new deadlier adversary. Mysterious ritualistic slayings are plaguing Deer Falls. Nobody is safe from a powerful serial killer who has descended upon the sleepy Colorado town. Driven by a thirst for revenge, they will stop at nothing to release dark magic housed within an ancient amulet and wield it for their own purposes. When Eric and his mom Emily fall in this killer’s crosshairs, he must again face his worst nightmares brought to life. Can he protect himself and his mom from danger while stopping a deadly adversary from ruling Deer Falls and beyond through terror and magic? The Crimson Reaper is a haunting sequel to Pandora Reborn and the newest entry in John Coon’s Deer Falls horror series. If you love chilling characters and relentlessly suspenseful stories, you will devour this small-town horror tale.

This dissertation attempts to elucidate the origins and nature of the lost Sanhuang wen (Writ of the Three Sovereigns), and identify its surviving fragments in the Daoist Canon. Through a close examination of these fragments, this study reconstructs various stages in scripture's transmission and traces its development from a single text to a fourteen-scroll corpus replete with mantic methods, cosmological speculations, and elaborate liturgies. The present study pushes beyond conventional views of the Sanhuang by underscoring the pivotal role of alchemy and meditation alongside talismans as defining components of the tradition. It analyzes key notions, such as "true form" (zhenxing), in the sophisticated conceptual apparatus that governs Sanhuang talismanic, alchemical, and meditative practices. In so doing, this dissertation reveals the profound impact of the Sanhuang wen on the religious landscape of Six Dynasties Jiangnan, and in a larger framework, on the development of Daoism.

The deities and gods viewed the weak as ants! Then I, Wu Shengxuan, will turn God into an ant in the eyes of mortals! So what if he was a deity? So what if he was a demon? As long as he could clearly see this world, what was wrong with being a free and unrestrained demon? Even if he didn't have a spirit vein, he would still find his own path to body refining! Even if he defied the Heavens, defied the Immortal, exterminated the Devil, and devoured the Demon, then he would take back what was his own! Even if he became a demon, it would be a little bit clear among all the devils. Even if he was betrayed by his best brother in the end, he would only smile and say, "Give me a reason, I will forgive you!"

This unique work of popular criticism of the stories and characters of author Stephen King embraces and explains the entire body of his work. The authors also demonstrate King's impact on popular culture and include a chronology of his life and career.

Discover the dark world of Eberron as one assassin-turned-cleric searches for peace in a land that knows only blood Diran Bastiaan was once one of the most feared assassins in the land—one of the best money could buy. But after a life-altering spiritual experience, he has turned his back on murder, seeking the life of a wandering priest of the Silver Flame. All he wants is peace. But in a rough port town on the edge of the world, his past is about to catch up to him—and killing may be his only hope. When raiders known as the Black Fleet hit the town, capturing Diran’s former lover, he must risk everything to save her. Accompanied by a half-orc fighter named Ghaji, he races against the clock, knowing time is quickly running out. For these are no ordinary pirates bent on plunder, but minions of Erdis Cai, a warlord and servant of the Blood of Vol . . .

To protect his people from the demonic Illysp, Torin, king of Alson, made the ultimate sacrifice. Now his best friend and his former love seek to salvage the shattered lands beyond their borders. But a treacherous assault costs them their most powerful weapon—the fabled Crimson Sword. Hopelessly outmatched, Pentania's citizens must flee their conquered homeland or else perish. And now the Leviathan has been awakened—an unfathomable creature whose wrath could single-handedly destroy the entire world. Scant hope remains—save for the possibly futile efforts of a lone elf, a mad witch, and a fallen hero charged with unraveling a series of divine riddles. But doom is inevitable, unless they can somehow break the powerful bonds of a fiendish, insidious possession.