In the final volume of this epic fantasy, good is pitted against evil when the worshipers of the God of Light battle the servants of Eternal Night for the future of Thrull.

John Milton is, next to William Shakespeare, the most influential English poet, a writer whose work spans an incredible breadth of forms and subject matter. The Complete Poetry and Essential Prose of John Milton celebrates this author’s genius in a thoughtfully assembled book that provides new modern-spelling versions of Milton’s texts, expert commentary, and a wealth of other features that will please even the most dedicated students of Milton’s canon. Edited by a trio of esteemed scholars, this volume is the definitive Milton for our time. In these pages you will find all of Milton’s verse, from masterpieces such as Paradise Lost–widely viewed as the finest epic poem in the English language–to shorter works such as the Nativity Ode, Lycidas,, A Masque and Samson Agonistes. Milton’s non-English language sonnets, verses, and elegies are accompanied by fresh translations by Gordon Braden. Among the newly edited and authoritatively annotated prose selections are letters, pamphlets, political tracts, essays such as Of Education and Areopagitica, and a generous portion of his heretical Christian Doctrine. These works reveal Milton’s passionate advocacy of controversial positions during the English Civil War and the Commonwealth and Restoration periods. With his deep learning and the sensual immediacy of his language, Milton creates for us a unique bridge to the cultures of classical antiquity and medieval and Renaissance Christianity. With this in mind, the editors give careful attention to preserving the vibrant energy of Milton’s verse and prose, while making the relatively unfamiliar aspects of his writing accessible to modern readers. Notes identify the old meanings and roots of English words, illuminate historical contexts–including classical and biblical allusions–and offer concise accounts of the author’s philosophical and political assumptions. This edition is a consummate work of modern literary scholarship.

Matar's Quartet of Joy is a multilayered poetic composition in four elemental keys: earth, fire, water, and air. While exemplifying Egyptian ethos, the poems also evoke African landscapes, ancient Greek philosophy, Bedouin culture, Islamic folk rituals, classical Arabian verse, Koranic citations, and Sufi aphorisms to create a lyrical arabesque. The four sets of the volume create a musical structure that has the intimacy and the gracefulness of a quartet playing chamber music. The dazzling poetry is richly seeded with literary, political, and philosophical allusions. For the benefit of bilingual readers, the original poetry in Arabic is presented. The translation of Quartet of Joy is a unique work of Ferial Gahzoul and John Verlenden, combining poetic sensibility with scholarly knowledge. What results is a work beautifully true to Matar's sweeping cultural vision and one that mirrors his broad use of contrapuntal styles and his ability to employ all the powers and motifs of Arabic language, literature, and history.

Examines the myriad of questions that arise when confronting the meaning of mortality, challenging many widely-held views about death and inviting readers to take a fresh look at the fact that they will die.

Pyramids had a specific function and this book endeavours to detail exactly how and when they operated. Pharaoh Khufu built what probably stands as the greatest ever construction that humans have produced (given the tech constraints of the time); the Great pyramid. Its accuracy, and size are just awe-inspiring; it was the tallest building in the World until the Cathedrals of Europe arrived on the scene! According to ancient historians though, Khufu was never buried there and when the Arabs first broke in to the upper chambers in 820AD, they found the sarcophagus empty! It had been ceremonially sealed without the king inside!! Are we expected to believe that they built the World’s greatest ever construction as a tomb, then sealed it forever, but without the body of the king? Isn’t that a little odd? The reality is, it was meant for something much greater than his tomb. What purpose does such a grand resting place for your body really fulfil? It appeases the ego of the living king, but thereafter, it achieves nothing. A hole in the ground can preserve the body just as well, and in fact it probably has, for that’s where most believe Khufu was buried––in an as yet undiscovered shaft tomb. Very unceremonious for someone who had such a magnificent structure built! Khufu’s father was King Snefru; he built the World’s two tallest buildings at the time. We could reason that one was to be his tomb, but then what was the other one for? The forgotten story of the pyramids is that they were principally built for the king’s Heb Sed festival, the most important event in his lifetime––should he live long enough to perform it. He had to wait 30 years before he could participate in this magical ceremony, so he spent 20 odd years building a structure that was vital for its success. After 30 years at the helm, the king was supposed to be ritually killed. Heb Sed enabled him to avoid this dire fate. His reign would be extended if he passed the rigorous tests involved in the ceremonies, but not only that, he would also become a living incarnation of the Sun-god. This ensured that he would live on for all eternity. Pyramids weren’t built for vanity, instead they were vital mechanisms for achieving these ends and so every king in the Old Kingdom constructed a pyramid to facilitate his immortality. This is the third and final book in the series, to be read after 'Architecture of Ra' and ‘Tombs of the Gods’.