A superb gothic novel about the real Dracula, Vlad the Impaler - one of history's greatest psychopaths or a hero of the West? Perhaps both... 'A chilling masterpiece that weaves fact and fable. Bedtime reading? Only if you don't need much sleep...' BEST DRACULA. A name of horror, depravity and the darkest sensuality. Yet the real Dracula was just as alluring, just as terrifying, his story not of a monster but of a man - and a contradiction. For the one they called 'The Devil's Son' was both tyrant and lawgiver, crusader and mass slaughterer, torturer and hero, lover and murderer. His tale is told by those who knew him best. The only woman he ever loved, who he must sacrifice. His closest comrade and traitor. And his priest, betraying the secrets of the confessional to reveal the mind of the man history would forever remember as Tepes - 'The Impaler'. But Vlad's actions defy such labels. His extraordinary life burns with passion, taking him from his years as hostage to the Turk, through torture, battle, triumph and betrayal, ultimately to a last crusade - there perhaps, beneath the twin banners of the Dragon and the Cross, to find redemption for his innumerable sins.

Recounts the life of the real Dracula, a Romanian warrior prince, and how some events have become part of modern vampire lore.

For centuries, the legends and myths of vampires have permeated various cultures around the world. In folklore, frequently vampires visited their loved ones, and caused evil doings or deaths in the places they inhabited when they were alive. The romance of the vampire lies in his total isolation––he is the tragic character of the fallen angel, one with unimaginable power. Yet, his fatal weakness makes him vulnerable. In this mesmerizing book, readers learn about the origins of vampires and their various forms across the ancient world, Europe, America, the Caribbean, Asia, and Africa. Vlad Tepes, the land of Transylvania, and Dracula are engagingly introduced. The volume also describes how vampires have been featured in books and film.

A war hero, a mass murderer and a Gothic legend the world has never forgotten Vlad the Impaler is one of history’s most compelling and brutal characters, with a bizarre afterlife as a cult horror sensation. A hero to his countrymen, Vlad Dracula is a byword for dread. Not just for generations of Western fans of Gothic fiction and film, but also for an appalled and fascinated 15th-century readership, for whom contemporary accounts of Dracula’s atrocities became the world’s first horror bestsellers. Combining historical research and dramatic reconstruction with contemporary reference, here is Vlad the Impaler’s dramatic career, from pampered captive of the Ottoman Sultans to exterminating angel of Christian vengeance. But in reality, was he the embodiment of unbridled cruelty or model ruler of an embattled realm? Prince Dracula also examines the role of psychological warfare and black propaganda in international politics, from the medieval torture chamber to the headlines of the modern age, and shows Vlad as an unwitting pioneer of the modern world. Plying a grisly course through medieval bloodbaths and contemporary horrors, Gavin Baddeley and Paul Woods leave no tombstone unturned in this extraordinary history.

The second graphic novel in the series of adaptations of Heather Brewer's New York Times best-selling series. Freshman year stinks for Vlad Tod. Bullies still harass him. The photographer from the school newspaper is tailing him. And failing his studies could be deadly. A trip to Siberia gives study abroad a whole new meaning as Vlad connects with other vampires and advances his mind-control abilities, but will he return home with the skills to recognize a vampire slayer when he sees one? In this thrilling sequel to Eighth Grade Bites, Vlad must confront the secrets of the past and battle forces that once again threaten his life.

If middle school sucked for Vladimir Tod, high school is a real drain. Besides being a punch bag for bullies, he's still going nowhere fast with dream girl Meredith. Needless to say, practicing his vampire skills hasn't exactly been a priority for Vlad - until now. A monumental trip to Siberia with Uncle Otis, training alongside the most gifted vampires, is exactly what Vlad needs. And he'd better get it right, because the battle brewing back home with the vampire who's been stalking him . . . could be Vlad's last.

Cover Flap English children learn that Knut the Great was a pre-Norman king born of Royal Danish blood and was so conceited as to think that he could command the ocean tides. The rest of Europe learn that he was the Emperor of the North Sea, the Baltic Sea, the Irish Sea and the Channel. Directly or indirectly he ruled most of the peoples living around those seas and thus the trade between them flourished. Knut inherited the empire that his father, King Sweyn Forkbeard of the Danes had glued together. Glued with the technology and wealth gained from the Byzantine trade via the river routes to the Black Sea, and with Varangian warriors trained in the Byzantine. About the Author Skye Smith is my pen name. My interest in Knut stems from the endless research I did while writing “The Hoodsman” series of historical novels about the Norman invasion of England. That invasion by William the Conqueror was not a quick subjugation of a Brit-Saxon England, but a long and bitter genocide of Brit-Danish England and the destruction of Knut’s great legacy. The first novel “Knut - Jomsviking” sets the characters and scene for the entire series, so if you haven’t yet read it, now would be a good time. This is the second novel in the series where Knut’s story continues with the adventures of his father, King Sweyn Forkbeard of Denmark as he entwines the politics of Baltic and Black Seas with the politics of England. The chapter headings identify the dates and places. The Appendix gives historical insight and a list of characters. Enjoy. Other Novels By The Same Author: The Hoodsman – 12 historical adventures set in the Norman conquest. Maya’s Aura – 8 new age adventures while tripping around the world. The Pistoleer – 9 historical adventures set in the English Civil War. Knut – many historical adventures set in the Viking Era. Knut #1 – Jomsviking (980 – 984) Knut #2 – Varangian (986 – 992) Knut #3 – Strandhogg (993 – 994) Knut #4 – Forkbeard’s Peace (995 – 999) Knut #5 – Brice’s Massacre (1000 – 1002 coming soon)

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