A killer walks among the rich and powerful. Who can the Magebreakers trust? Someone is killing the non-magical members of Senate houses-those who might one day be named Protector of the Realm. And that same someone is leaving behind messages for the Magebreakers beside symbols of the shadowy organization known as the Knights of the Emperor. Under suspicion from the constabulary, Tane and Kadka are drawn into the investigation to prove their innocence. What they find is that Audish politics are as dangerous as any Porthaven back-alley. Suddenly, they're surrounded by the most powerful figures in the realm, every one with a different agenda. Telling allies from enemies has never been harder, but Tane and Kadka will have to find someone to trust if they're going to bring the killer to justice. Their lives-and the future of the Protectorate-depend on it.

Fifty leaves that form the sumptuous Kevorkian Album, one of the world's greatest assemblages of Mughal art. -- Metropolitan Museum of Art website.

The fascinating story of the Austrian, German and Russian imperial families during the four years of the First World War and the political and personal struggles that brought about their ruin

This title concerns the Farnham Castle Centre for International Briefing, widely acknowledged as the world's leading provider of intercultural management training and briefing. It has an unmatched reputation for helping individuals, partners and their families to prepare to live and work effectively anywhere in the world. CONTENTS: 1. The Japanese Mask 2. The Japanese Archipelago 3. Japan Past 4. The Cultural Values of Japan 5. The Japanese Language 6. The Japanese Economy 7. The Business World 8. Negotiating with the Japanese 9. Experiencing Japan

Since glasnost began, Russia's most eminent historians have taken advantage of new archival access and the end of censorship and conformity to reassess and reinterpret their history. Through this process they are linking up with Russia's great historiographic tradition while producing work that is fresh and modern. In "The Emperors and Empresses of Russia", renowned Russian historians tell the story of the Romanovs as complex individual personalities and as key institutional actors in Russian history, from the empire builder Peter I to the last tsar, Nicholas II. These portraits are contributions to the writing of history, partaking neither of wooden ideologisation nor of naive romanticisation.

There is a cancer at the heart of the mighty Cerani Empire: a plague that marks each victim with a fragment of a greater design. Geometric patterns spread across the skin, until the victim dies in agony or becomes a Carrier, doing the bidding of an evil intelligence. The lost prince Sarmin, the emperor's only surviving brother, lies locked in a hidden room. As the pattern draws closer to the palace he is at last remembered: now he awaits a bride, Mesema, a Windreader from the northern plains. She is accustomed to riding free across the grasslands and finds the Imperial Court stifling, but she soon realizes the politicking is not a game. It is in deadly earnest. Eyul, the imperial assassin, is burdened by the atrocities he has committed. As commanded, he bears the emperor's Knife to the desert in search of a cure for the pattern-markings. As long-planned conspiracies boil over into open violence, the enemy moves towards victory. Now only three people stand in his way: a lost prince, a world-weary killer, and a young girl from the steppes who saw a path in a pattern once, among the waving grasses.

Now available in an accessible, new translation, "The Emperor's Handbook" is an important piece of ancient literature that remains more relevant than ever today.

As global cinema becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish, characterizations of horror films from various geographical and cultural locations seem more fluid and transitional than ever before. However, this does not mean denying the existence of national features that affect and are reflected in horror films, whether from an artistic or a reception standpoint. Horror is one of the most studied genres in cinema, yet none of the many books on the subject focus on films or traditions outside the United States or the United Kingdom. While Italian, Japanese, Mexican, German, and Hong Kong horror films have received a modicum of critical recognition, the areas of Egyptian, Romanian, Belgian, Dutch, New Zealand, and Thai horror all still need-in fact, demand-some attention. Horror International seeks to rectify this by giving the global perspectives and cross-cultural dynamics of world horror cinema its due. This groundbreaking collection of eighteen original essays examine a myriad of films, showing how each draws from Hollywood horror conventions and also local cinematic traditions, local folklore, and national historical and cultural concerns. The production, marketing, and reception of various national cinemas are also addressed, demonstrating how these films are understood by different audiences worldwide. This in turn sheds new light on the original cultural production of many works and their subsequent "translations" and meanings in different national contexts. The diverse and highly informative essays in Horror International will engross both scholars and fans of horror films and finally illuminate the distinct multicultural factors of this exciting cinematic genre.

Grand Prize Winner of Harlequin's So You Think You Can Write contest in 2015 Lauren D.M. Smith delivers an epic fantasy romance in this soaring tale of a kickass warrior and the emperor she's honor-bound to defend The bride candidates have been summoned. Their numbers are many, yet only one is an Amazzi warrior. Only one would give her life to protect him. Evony of Aureline, warrior of her people, has no intention of becoming a hideous old man's bride. Though her people have sworn their loyalty to the legendary emperor Galen, Evony knows little of courts and intrigue. It's simply not her world. Yet it's on the palace training grounds where Evony's archery skills gain her the respect of soldiers and legates alike. The emperor himself takes notice of the beautiful, ruthless warrior. In turn, the young, steely eyed Galen is nothing at all what Evony expected. This man could very well conquer her heart. But does he feel the same? As the rivalry among the remaining bride candidates intensifies and the plot for the throne unfolds, Evony must make a grave choice: fulfill her destiny and protect her people or follow her heart and pursue true love. Either way, the honor of the Amazzi people and the future of the empire now rests with Evony of Aureline. For she is the Emperor's Arrow.