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Yendi (novel)
''Yendi'' is a fantasy novel by American writer Steven Brust, the second book in his Vlad Taltos series; it is a prequel to the first novel, ''Jhereg''. Originally printed in 1984 by Ace Books, it was reprinted in 1999 in the omnibus ''The Book of Jhereg'' along with ''Jhereg'' and ''Teckla''. Following the trend of the Vlad Taltos books, it is named after one of the Great Houses in Brust's world of Dragaera and features that House as an important element to its plot. ''Yendi'' is Brust's least favorite book. Plot Six months after he took control of his own territory in the criminal Organization, Vlad engages in his first turf war with a rival boss. Each chapter's epigraph is a quote from its chapter. Vlad narrates this story from a point in his life before the events of ''Jhereg''. He quickly summarizes the series of turf wars and assassinations that led him to rise in the ranks of the Organization from low-rung assassin to the boss of his own neighborhood. As the story begins ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steven Brust
Steven Karl Zoltán Brust (born November 23, 1955) is an American fantasy and science fiction author of Hungarian descent. He is best known for his series of novels about the assassin Vlad Taltos, one of a disdained minority group of humans living on a world called Dragaera. His recent novels also include ''The Incrementalists'' (2013) and its sequel ''The Skill of Our Hands'' (2017), with co-author Skyler White. As a drummer and singer-songwriter, Brust has recorded one solo album and two albums as a member of Cats Laughing. Brust also co-wrote songs on two albums recorded in the mid-1990s by the band Boiled in Lead. Writing career The Dragaeran books The Vlad Taltos series, written as high fantasy with a science fiction underpinning, is set on a planet called Dragaera. The events of the series take place in an Empire mostly inhabited and ruled by the Dragaerans, a genetically engineered humanoid species, having characteristics such as greatly extended lifespans and heights ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jhereg
''Jhereg'' is a fantasy novel by American writer Steven Brust, part of his Vlad Taltos series, originally published in 1983 by Ace Books. Ace later republished it in 1999 as part of the three-book omnibus, ''The Book of Jhereg''. Marvel Comics adapted the story into a graphic novel titled ''Steven Brust's JHEREG'' in 1987. The novel is named after House Jhereg, the Great House to which Vlad Taltos belongs. Plot introduction Vlad Taltos, a mobster and assassin in the magical metropolis of Adrilankha, is given the largest contract of his career, but the job is even more complicated than he expects. Plot summary The novel opens with a brief history of Vlad Taltos and a description of how he acquired his jhereg familiar, Loiosh. Despite being an Easterner in the Dragaeran city of Adrilankha, Vlad is a minor boss in the criminal activities of the Jhereg Organization. One day he is approached by ''the Demon'', an extremely powerful member of the Organization's ruling Council, and of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1984 American Novels
Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). * January 10 ** The United States and the Vatican City, Vatican (Holy See) restore full diplomatic relations. ** The Victoria, Seychelles, Victoria Agreement is signed, institutionalising the Indian Ocean Commission. *January 24 – Steve Jobs launches the Macintosh 128K, Macintosh personal computer in the United States. February * February 3 ** Dr. John Buster and the research team at Harbor–UCLA Medical Center announce history's first embryo transfer from one woman to another, resulting in a live birth. ** STS-41-B: Space Shuttle Challenger, Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' is launched on the 10th Space Shuttle mission. * February 7 – Astronauts Bruce McCandless II and Robert L. Stewart make the first untethered spac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1984 Fantasy Novels
Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). * January 10 ** The United States and the Vatican (Holy See) restore full diplomatic relations. ** The Victoria Agreement is signed, institutionalising the Indian Ocean Commission. *January 24 – Steve Jobs launches the Macintosh personal computer in the United States. February * February 3 ** Dr. John Buster and the research team at Harbor–UCLA Medical Center announce history's first embryo transfer from one woman to another, resulting in a live birth. ** STS-41-B: Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' is launched on the 10th Space Shuttle mission. * February 7 – Astronauts Bruce McCandless II and Robert L. Stewart make the first untethered space walk. * February 8– 19 – The 1984 Winter Olympics are held in Sarajevo, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jo Walton
Jo Walton (born 1964) is a Welsh and Canadian fantasy and science fiction writer and poet. She is best known for the fantasy novel ''Among Others'', which won the Hugo Award, Hugo and Nebula Awards in 2012, and ''Tooth and Claw (novel), Tooth and Claw'', a Victorian era novel with dragons which won the World Fantasy Award in 2004. Other works by Walton include the ''Small Change'' series, in which she blends alternate history with the cozy mystery genre, comprising ''Farthing (novel), Farthing'', ''Ha'penny (novel), Ha'penny'' and ''Half a Crown (novel), Half a Crown''. Her fantasy novel ''Lifelode'' won the 2010 Mythopoeic Award, and her alternate history ''My Real Children'' received the 2015 Tiptree Award. Walton is also known for her non-fiction, including book reviews and SF commentary in the magazine ''Tor.com''. A collection of her articles were published in ''What Makes This Book So Great'' (2014), which won the Locus Award for Best Non-Fiction. Background Walton w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black Gate (magazine)
''Black Gate'' is a fantasy magazine published by New Epoch Press. It was published in glossy print until 2011, after which it shifted online. History First launched in October 2000 using the slogan "Adventures in Fantasy Literature," ''Black Gate'' primarily features original short fiction up to novella length. It also features reviews of fantasy novels, graphic novels, and role playing game products. This is supplemented by columns and articles reflecting on fantasy literature's past as well as the occasional interview. Every print issue contained the comic ''Knights of the Dinner Table: Java Joint'' by Kenzer & Company of Knights of the Dinner Table fame. Much of the fiction is by lesser known or new authors, but noted contributors have included Michael Moorcock, Mike Resnick, Charles de Lint and Cory Doctorow. As a semi-regular feature, ''Black Gate'' reprinted rare adventure stories from earlier decades or work from more recent years that the editors feel has been neglecte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Widow's Peak
A widow's peak is a V-shaped point in the hairline in the center of the forehead. Hair growth on the forehead is suppressed in a bilateral pair of periorbital fields. Without a widow's peak, these fields join in the middle of the forehead so as to give a hairline that runs straight across. A widow's peak results when the point of intersection on the forehead of the upper perimeters of these fields is lower than usual. Definition A widow's peak is a distinct point in the hairline in the center of the forehead; there are varying degrees of the peak. Although it is commonly taught as an example of a dominant inherited trait, there are no scientific studies to support this. Etymology The term stems from the belief that hair growing to a point on the forehead – suggestive of the peak of a widow's hood – is an omen of early widowhood. The use of peak in relation to hair dates from 1833. The expression widow's peak dates from 1849. The use of peak may refer to the beak or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Epigraph (literature)
In literature, an epigraph is a phrase, quotation, or poem that is set at the beginning of a document, monograph or section thereof. The epigraph may serve as a preface to the work; as a summary; as a counter-example; or as a link from the work to a wider literary canon, with the purpose of either inviting comparison or enlisting a conventional context. A book may have an overall epigraphy that is part of the front matter, or one for each chapter. Examples * As the epigraph to '' The Sum of All Fears'', Tom Clancy quotes Winston Churchill in the context of thermonuclear war:Why, you may take the most gallant sailor, the most intrepid airman or the most audacious soldier, put them at a table together – what do you get? The sum of their fears. * The long quotation from Dante's ''Inferno'' that prefaces T. S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" is part of a speech by one of the damned in Dante's Hell. * The epigraph to E. L. Doctorow's ''Ragtime'' quotes Scott Joplin' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dragaera
Steven Karl Zoltán Brust (born November 23, 1955) is an American fantasy and science fiction author of Hungarian descent. He is best known for his series of novels about the assassin Vlad Taltos, one of a disdained minority group of humans living on a world called Dragaera. His recent novels also include ''The Incrementalists'' (2013) and its sequel ''The Skill of Our Hands'' (2017), with co-author Skyler White. As a drummer and singer-songwriter, Brust has recorded one solo album and two albums as a member of Cats Laughing. Brust also co-wrote songs on two albums recorded in the mid-1990s by the band Boiled in Lead. Writing career The Dragaeran books The Vlad Taltos series, written as high fantasy with a science fiction underpinning, is set on a planet called Dragaera. The events of the series take place in an Empire mostly inhabited and ruled by the Dragaerans, a genetically engineered humanoid species, having characteristics such as greatly extended lifespans and heights ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stephen Hickman
Stephen Hickman (April 9, 1949 – July 16, 2021) was an American artist, illustrator, sculptor, and author. Biography Hickman's professional career was launched in 1972 when he got a job creating T-shirt designs for Shirt Explosion in Lanham, Maryland. Hickman was given virtually unlimited artistic freedom. His entry into book illustration came in 1974, when Neal Adams of Continuity Studios introduced Hickman to Charles Volpe, art editor at Ace Books. Volpe bought the printing rights of items from Hickman's portfolio, and later commissioned paintings which were used for reprints of Ace Doubles in the ''Classics of Science-Fiction'' series. Hickman then became a full-time artist. His most prominent work is Space Fantasy Stamps, a series of science fiction and fantasy postage stamps made for the United States Postal Service. These stamps are a series of five scenes that depict space travel. Awards * 1994 Hugo Award, for Best Original Art Work * Six Chesley Awards The Chesley A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fantasy Novel
Fantasy literature is literature set in an imaginary universe, often but not always without any locations, events, or people from the real world. Magic, the supernatural and magical creatures are common in many of these imaginary worlds. Fantasy literature may be directed at both children and adults. Fantasy is a subgenre of speculative fiction and is distinguished from the genres of science fiction and horror by the absence of scientific or macabre themes, respectively, though these genres overlap. Historically, most works of fantasy were written, however, since the 1960s, a growing segment of the fantasy genre has taken the form of films, television programs, graphic novels, video games, music and art. Many fantasy novels originally written for children and adolescents also attract an adult audience. Examples include ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'', the '' Harry Potter'' series, '' The Chronicles of Narnia'', and ''The Hobbit''. History Beginnings Stories invo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Teckla
''Teckla'' is a fantasy novel by American writer Steven Brust, the third book in his Vlad Taltos series. Originally printed in 1987 by Ace Books, it was reprinted in 1999 in the omnibus ''The Book of Jhereg'' along with ''Jhereg'' and ''Yendi''. Following the trend of the Vlad Taltos books, it is named after one of the Great Houses in Brust's fantasy world of Dragaera and features that House as an important element to its plot. Plot summary While deciding what to do with the fortune he made after the events of ''Jhereg'', Vlad is alarmed to discover that his wife has joined a group of revolutionaries consisting of Easterners and Teckla from the ghetto of South Adrilankha. One of their members, Franz, has been murdered. Fearing for Cawti's safety, Vlad resolves to investigate the matter. After some aggressive investigation, Vlad learns that the Jhereg boss of South Adrilankha, Herth, ordered the assassination after the revolutionaries attacked his businesses. By getting involve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
