Showing results by narrator "Adriel Brandt" in Literature & Fiction

Peace is no more. The Harmony Allegiant have grown in Kzhek, preparing for the next stage in their revolution. Phenmir has returned home to witness the rise of a new Krall and the path of his son as a Patriarchal Scholar. Aerhee must face her past once again as secrets of Facet threaten its structure. Yetrik finds new allies in the Priessmen, hoping to join them to his people in Court Gruth. Nature speaks as vines rise from their rest in the Middlelands. Players both familiar and new have entered the war over harvesting.

This collection includes A Journey to the Center of the Earth, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Around the World in 80 Days, The Mysterious Island, The Master of the World, and In the Year 2889.

1984 is a novel by the British author George Orwell in 1949. The narrative unfolds in an imagined future when most of the world has fallen prey to omnipresent government surveillance, propaganda, and endless war. Great Britain has become a province of the super state Oceania, which is ruled by the Party, whose leader is called Big Brother. The Party employs the Thought Police to persecute individuality and independent thinking. Winston Smith, the protagonist, is an ordinary worker who secretly despises the Party and dreams of rebellion.

Faust is a tragic play in two parts that reworks the late medieval myth of a brilliant but disillusioned scholar who makes a deal with the devil. Faust is considered by many to be Goethe's masterpiece and the greatest work of German literature. Part I sets out Faust’s despair, his pact with Mephistopheles, and his love for Gretchen. Part II deals with Faust’s life at court, the wooing and winning of Helen of Troy, and his purification and redemption.

This simplistic and ingenious allegory from one of the fathers of Western philosophy casts light on society’s naiveté and ignorance.

Rene Descartes, mathematician, scientist, and first "modern philosopher", wrote Meditations on First Philosophy, a six-part treatise first published in Latin in 1641, to deconstruct "belief" and, using reason and science, discuss the only things we can truly know for sure. Each of the six parts of this book represents six of Descartes’ meditations that occurred on six subsequent days, making it also, in no small part, an autobiographical piece of work.

Fans of cosmic horror will have much to sup on in these eight tales. The supernatural intrudes upon a wedding; a pier becomes the site of tragedy; a collapsed building is only the start of the nightmare for those trapped in the ruins; a scientist makes the discovery of a lifetime, only to find out that what he’s unearthed has dire consequences not only for himself, but for all of mankind.

The Greater Key of Solomon is a compilation of Solomonic magic drawn from various manuscripts of the 15th to 17th centuries. Book I provides conjurations, invocations, and curses to summon and constrain spirits and demons in order to compel them to do the conjuror's will. It also describes how to find lost items, become invisible, or gain favor with someone. Book II describes purification rituals which the occultist should undergo, how to dress for magical practices, and how to construct the necessary implements used in these rituals.

Ten years ago, a new generation of children began to manifest abilities from the gods. Now, nearly half of the continent has chosen to graft the organs granting the abilities into adults. These gifted children are no longer the only ones with divine power. Phenmir will no longer participate, but can he repent his sin before all morality is lost? Meanwhile, Aerhee will give all to preserve the process of harvesting, silencing those who oppose her people. Will this land of peace resort to the barbaric practice of war?

Animal Farm is an allegorical novella by George Orwell, first published in the UK in 1945. It is the tale of farm animals that rebel against the farmer, intending to establish a society where the animals can be equal, free, and happy. With stirring slogans, they set out to create utopia. However, the rebellion is betrayed and the farm ends up in a state worse than it was before, under the dictatorship of a pig named Napoleon. This is the setting for one of the most revealing satiric fables of all time.

The Nameless City, now defunct in part of the Arabian Peninsula, tells the tale of a civilization run by reptilian creatures long before the dawn of humanity. It describes how they lived, worked, and ran until the ocean receded. Desertlike conditions bring about the downfall of the civilization, and this is documented by the author of the Necronomicon. Despite this downfall, their hieroglyphs remain, and it is rumored that deep beneath the surface, some reptilian creatures remain, too.

Flatland, first published in 1884, is classic work of satire. The full title, Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions, reveals the story's most compelling characteristic, its discussion of multiple dimensions. It is this fascinating examination which has contributed to Flatland's enduring popularity.

Parzival is a romantic poem written by Wolfram von Eschenbach in Middle High German. Regarded as one of the masterpieces of the Middle Ages, the romance was the most popular vernacular verse narrative in medieval Germany. Dated to the first quarter of the 13th century, the poem tells the story of the Arthurian hero Parzival and his quest for the Holy Grail. The most notable elements of the work are an emphasis on the importance of humility, compassion, and sympathy. Richard Wagner based his famous opera Parsifal on Parzival.

Book one of the Rise of Daniel follows Daniel, Jeremiah, and Nebuchadnezzar at the beginning of the Babylonian Captivity. Daniel, merely a boy of fourteen, is thrust into a world of conspiracy and evil when Jeremiah the prophet predicts the coming of the powerful Babylonian prince, Nebuchadnezzar, to conquer Jerusalem. The kingdom of Judah has turned her back on the God of Israel, trusting in the Egyptians and the gods of the heathen nations around them.

The Testament of Solomon was originally written in Greek, and scholars date it to the end of the first century, but it includes material dated to an earlier period. The text contains various theological and magical themes found in Christianity and Judaism, and Greek and Egyptian mythology. It contains passages on medical alchemy and incorporates astrological concepts. Most of it consists of Solomon's interviews with demons, including figures otherwise known as the Titan Kronos, Lilith, Hecate, and Medusa.

Jules Verne’s masterpiece, The Mysterious Island, is a fascinating story of five men and a dog who escape the American Civil War in a hot air balloon. A storm takes them far away and they land on an unknown island. One adventure follows another as they cope with pirate attacks and active volcanoes. After receiving a message in a bottle, they rescue another castaway on Tabor Island. In crisis situations, they are assisted by an unseen helper who once supplies medicine and another time beats back the pirates.

Faust is a tragic play in two parts that reworks the late medieval myth of a brilliant but disillusioned scholar who makes a deal with the devil. it is widely considered to be Goethe's masterpiece and the greatest work of German literature. The novel Elective Affinities is the story of Eduard and Charlotte, an aristocratic couple enjoying an idyllic but rather dull life on their rural estate. They invite the Captain, Eduard's childhood friend, and Ottilie, the orphaned niece of Charlotte, to live with them, with tragic results.

Theodore Roosevelt began this 1899 speech with his thesis: “I wish to preach, not the doctrine of ignoble ease, but the doctrine of the strenuous life.” He discusses how the many hardships of his life shaped him for the better. Roosevelt believed that if Americans wished to succeed in the world, they would need to embrace the virtue of hard work. He applied this same belief to foreign affairs, stating that America must establish itself as a powerful military force and exert this power when necessary.

George Orwell was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic, best known for the allegorical novella Animal Farm (1945) and the dystopian novel 1984 (1949). Animal Farm is Orwell's classic satire of the Russian Revolution. The farm animals rise up against Farmer Jones and transform the Manor Farm into Animal Farm, an egalitarian society built on the credo that All Animals Are Created Equal. In 1984, the protagonist, Winston Smith ,wrestles with oppression in Oceania, a state where the Party scrutinizes every human action with Big Brother.

For Louis Masset, life in the little French town is decidedly dull. By day he works for a pompous lawyer, and at weekends helps out in his father’s grain store, where he’s forced to work alongside his oafish brother-in-law. His monotony-filled life offers little hope for excitement. But everything changes when Philippe de Clermont enters Louis' world. This handsome aristocrat introduces him to a realm of desire previously unknown, and he awakens a dormant talent as a painter in Louis with astonishing results. Suddenly, a radiant and promising future beckons for both men.