An epic yet personal look at several decades of life, love, and death in the imaginary city of Ambergris--previously chronicled in Jeff VanderMeer's acclaimed <i>City of Saints &amp; Madmen</i>--<i>Shriek: An Afterword</i> relates the scandalous, heartbreaking, and horrifying secret history of two squabbling siblings and their confidantes, protectors, and enemies. <br /><br />Narrated with flamboyant intensity and under increasingly urgent conditions by ex-society figure Janice Shriek, this afterword presents a vivid gallery of characters and events, emphasizing the adventures of Janice's brother Duncan, a historian obsessed with a doomed love affair and a secret that may kill or transform him; a war between rival publishing houses that will change Ambergris forever; and the gray caps, a marginalized people armed with advanced fungal technologies who have been waiting underground for their chance to mold the future of the city. <br /><br />Part academic treatise, part tell-all biography, after this introduction to the Family Shriek, you'll never look at history in quite the same way again.<br />

“A bright new voice in the fantasy genre” (George R. R. Martin) , acclaimed author Scott Lynch continues to astound and entertain with his thrillingly inventive, wickedly funny, suspense-filled adventures featuring con artist extraordinaire Locke Lamora. And The Republic of Thieves is his most captivating novel yet.

With what should have been the greatest heist of their career gone spectacularly sour, Locke and his trusted partner, Jean, have barely escaped with their lives. Or at least Jean has. But Locke is slowly succumbing to a deadly poison that no alchemist or physiker can cure. Yet just as the end is near, a mysterious Bondsmage offers Locke an opportunity that will either save him or finish him off once and for all.

Magi political elections are imminent, and the factions are in need of a pawn. If Locke agrees to play the role, sorcery will be used to purge the venom from his body—though the process will be so excruciating he may well wish for death. Locke is opposed, but two factors cause his will to crumble: Jean’s imploring—and the Bondsmage’s mention of a woman from Locke’s past: Sabetha. She is the love of his life, his equal in skill and wit, and now, his greatest rival.

Locke was smitten with Sabetha from his first glimpse of her as a young fellow orphan and thief-in-training. But after a tumultuous courtship, Sabetha broke away. Now they will reunite in yet another clash of wills. For faced with his one and only match in both love and trickery, Locke must choose whether to fight Sabetha—or to woo her. It is a decision on which both their lives may depend.
Praise for Scott Lynch’s Red Seas Under Red Skies

“Lynch hasn’t merely imagined a far-off world, he’s created it, put it all down on paper—the smells, the sounds, the people, the feel of the place. The novel is a virtuoso performance, and sf/fantasy fans will gobble it up.”— Booklist (starred review)

“ Red Seas Under Red Skies firmly proves that Scott Lynch isn’t a one-hit wonder. . . . It’ll only be a matter of time before Scott Lynch is mentioned in the same breath as George R. R. Martin and Steven Erikson.”—Fantasy Book Critic

“Grand, grandiose, grandiloquent . . . No critic is likely to fault Lynch in his overflowing qualities of inventiveness, audacious draftsmanship, and sympathetic characterization.”— Locus

“The kind of witty romp that reminds you exactly how much fun heroic fantasy is supposed to be.”—SFX

Alternate Cover Edition ISBN: 0743273567 (ISBN13:
)
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald's third book, stands as the supreme achievement of his career. This exemplary novel of the Jazz Age has been acclaimed by generations of readers. The story is of the fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his new love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan, of lavish parties on Long Island at a time when The New York Times noted "gin was the national drink and sex the national obsession," it is an exquisitely crafted tale of America in the 1920s.
The Great Gatsby is one of the great classics of twentieth-century literature.
(back cover)

A man awakens in Hell where he is schooled in the ways of the damned. And once educated, he is released to wander Hell on his own. He journeys from one city to the next, dodging demon patrols and avenging angels hunting the damned for sport. Along the way to the city of Oblivion, he discovers a band of rebellious damned have left a tortured and beautiful demon to rot. He rescues her and sets in motion a series of events that could lead to the final battle between Heaven and Hell, angel and demon, demon and damned. <p>LETTERS FROM HADES is a travelogue of Hell - a world not that far from the very world we live in now. It is a story of rebellion, a story of love and a story of hope and rebirth set in a beautifully dark and textured world brought to brilliant life by Jeffrey Thomas, the acclaimed author of PUNKTOWN. </p><p>LETTERS FROM HADES is packed with over 30 scratchboard illustrations by Erik Wilson.</p>

George R. R. Martin has thrilled a generation of readers with his epic works of the imagination, most recently the critically acclaimed New York Times bestselling saga told in the novels A Game of Thrones , A Clash of Kings , and A Storm of Swords . Lisa Tuttle has won acclaim from fans of science fiction, horror, and fantasy alike— most recently for her haunting novel The Pillow Friend . Now together they gift readers with this classic tale of a brilliantly rendered world of ironbound tradition, where a rebellious soul seeks to prove the power of a dream.
The planet of Windhaven was not originally a home to humans, but it became one following the crash of a colony starship. It is a world of small islands, harsh weather, and monster-infested seas. Communication among the scattered settlements was virtually impossible until the discovery that, thanks to light gravity and a dense atmosphere, humans were able to fly with the aid of metal wings made of bits of the cannibalized spaceship.
Many generations later, among the scattered islands that make up the water world of Windhaven, no one holds more prestige than the silver-winged flyers, who bring news, gossip, songs, and stories. They are romantic figures crossing treacherous oceans, braving shifting winds and sudden storms that could easily dash them from the sky to instant death. They are also members of an increasingly elite caste, for the wings—always in limited quantity—are growing gradually rarer as their bearers perish.
With such elitism comes arrogance and a rigid adherence to hidebound tradition. And for the flyers, allowing just anyone to join their cadre is an idea that borders on heresy. Wings are meant only for the offspring of flyers—now the new nobility of Windhaven. Except that sometimes life is not quite so neat.
Maris of Amberly, a fisherman's daughter, was raised by a flyer and wants nothing more than to soar on the currents high above Windhaven. By tradition, however, the wings must go to her stepbrother, Coll, the flyer's legitimate son. But Coll wants only to be a singer, traveling the world by sea. So Maris challenges tradition, demanding that flyers be chosen on the basis of merit rather than inheritance. And when she wins that bitter battle, she discovers that her troubles are only beginning.
For not all flyers are willing to accept the world's new structure, and as Maris battles to teach those who yearn to fly, she finds herself likewise fighting to preserve the integrity of a society she so longed to join—not to mention the very fabric that holds her culture together.

Alva and Irva Dapps are identical twin sisters who live in the city of Entralla. Like the Emerald City, Gondal, and Brobdingnag, only one guidebook to the place exists, and this novel is it. Alva is an explorer who longs to travel the world. Irva is a recluse for whom stepping outside the house is an ordeal. Yet the twins feel each other's emotions, think each other's thoughts, love and hate and suffer as one--they cannot survive without one another. And thereby hangs an inventive tale of creativity, obsession, and genius bred by necessity. Together, the twins build a model of the city on a scale that might accommodate the desires of both sisters and comes to serve Entralla in a way its creators never could have imagined.

Mail From Another City is the first American publication by the internationally acclaimed Finnish author, Leena Krohn. TAINARON consists of a series of letters sent beyond the sea from a city of insects. TAINARON is a book of changes. It speaks of metamorphoses that test all of nature from a flea to a star, from stone and grass to a human. The same irresistible force that gives us birth, also kills us. Nominated for the prestigious Finlandia prize, this is the perfect introduction to the work of a modern fabulist.

The Darkness That Comes Before, R. Scott Bakker's magnificent debut, drew thunderous acclaim from reviewers and fellow fantasy authors. Readers were invited into a darkly threatening, thrillingly imaginative universe as fully realized as that of any in modern fantasy and introduced to one of the genre's great the powerful warrior-philosopher Anasûrimbor Kelhus, on whom the fate of a violently apocalyptic Holy War rests. Bakker's follow up to The Darkness That Comes Before, The Warrior Prophet enticed readers further into the richly imagined world of myth, violence, and sorcery. The startling and far-reaching answers to these questions are brought into thrilling focus in The Thousandfold Thought, the conclusion to The Prince of Nothing trilogy. Casting into question all the action that has taken place before, twisting readers' intuitions in unforeseen directions, remolding the fantasy genre to broaden the scope of intricacy and meaning, R. Scott Bakker has once again written a fantasy novel that defies all expectations and rewards the reader with an experience unlike any to be had in the canon of fantasy literature.

"Book Two of The Prince of Nothing" finds the Holy War continuing its inexorable march southward. But the suspicion begins to dawn that the real threat comes not from the infidel but from within...Steering souls through the subtleties of word and expression, Kellhus strives to extend his dominion over the Men of the Tusk. The sorcerer Achamian and his lover, Esmenet, submit entirely, only to have their faith - and their love - tested in unimaginable ways. Meanwhile, the warrior Cnaiur falls ever deeper into madness. Convinced that Kellhus will betray their pact to murder his father, Cnaiur turns to the agents of the Second Apocalypse and strikes an infernal bargain. The Holy War stands on a knife edge. If all is not to be lost, the great powers of the world will have to choose between their most desperate desires and the end of the world. Between hatred and hope. Between Anasurimbor Kellhus and the second apocalypse.

乌有王子三部曲The Prince of Nothing下载地址:http://hosea.drue.cn/up/ring/The%20Prince%20of%20Nothing.rar
（第三部好像还不完整）
1： The Darkness that Comes Before
2： The Warrior-Prophet
3： The Thousandfold Thought
(注：以上书籍仅供研究，请勿用于商业)
*
*
*
*
R. Scott Bakker，一颗奇幻的新星，在教书的同时，自己完成了The Prince of Nothing乌有王子三部曲，在一次无意的投稿中，被相中，最后一举成名．如今功成名就的Bakker在继续他的乌有王子系列，准备完成更庞大的奇幻体系。
* * * * * * * * *
附:一颗冉冉升起的史诗奇幻新星? (转载)
——记加拿大奇幻作家R?斯科特?巴克
一R?斯科特?巴克及其“乌有王子”三部曲之缘起
????? 自上世纪五十年代托尔金的《魔戒之王》奠定史诗奇幻的口碑和影响以来，迄今为止，史诗奇幻作为奇幻文学中的一个次文类（我们将在以后的专题中详解这一文类），牢牢占据了庞大的市场分额，获得了读者格外的关注。虽然不断遭到种种批判、质疑乃至轻视，但她仍显示出强大的生命力，并在新的世纪里继续蓬勃发展。究其原因，除了史诗奇幻代表着人们内心某种不可磨灭的思想追求以外，还因为在她的园地里，有着无数前仆后继、敢于创新的优秀作家。我们熟知的泰德?威廉姆斯（《回忆、悲伤与荆棘》）、乔治?马丁（《冰与火之歌》）等正是其中的佼佼者，正是通过他们不断探索新的写作纬度的努力，才让整个文类保持着活力。而下面将要介绍的加拿大作家R?斯科特?巴克，则是新近涌现出的又一颗史诗奇幻新星。
????? R?斯科特?巴克（R.Scott Bakker）生于1967年。自打十岁时在课堂上听老师将《霍比特人》从头到尾朗读了一遍之后，巴克便与奇幻结下了不解之缘；同时，少年时代阅读的《沙丘》系列科幻史诗小说也对他投身奇幻界产生了重大影响。在史诗奇幻这个业已成熟的文类里，相较于那些早已成名的前辈们，如罗伯特?乔丹，乔治?马丁乃至斯蒂芬?埃里克森，不足四十的斯科特?巴克整整矮了一辈，是一个真正意义上的青年作家。现在的他一直在大学中教书和求学，研究文学、历史、古代语言尤其是哲学，学术功底极为深厚；他同时还是美国科幻作家协会的成员，而哲学和奇幻则是他最大的爱好。“乌有王子”系列（包括下面将要提到的《昔日魔影》（The Darkness that Comes Before）、《战士先知》（The Warrior Prophet）和《千层思想》（The Thousandfold Thought）三部曲）是斯科特的处女之作，甫一面市便获得了如潮好评，促使其跻身当代欧美奇幻文坛的精英作家之列。
????? 荣耀并非信手拈来，鲜为人知的是，“乌有王子”系列，尤其该系列的第一本《昔日魔影》的出炉（初版于2003年）却前后历经了二十余年。十四岁那年，和兄弟玩D&D角色扮演游戏时，担任地下城主的他首次创造了一个自己的世界的雏形。此后数年间，他持续经营着这个世界，勾勒其中的细节部分，因此获得了无比庞大的资料库。“乌有王子”系列的背景世界“埃瓦”（Earwa）世界就是在这样的情形下产生的。在二十岁他踏入大学的第一年，由于不满市面上的史诗奇幻，他终于决定在自己的世界的基础上写一套书，一套结合《魔戒之王》的深度与宏伟气魄和《沙丘》的阴谋与思辩氛围，并以历史学家哈罗德?拉姆关于第一次十字军东征的著作为骨架的奇幻小说。
????? 二十三岁，也就是1990年左右，他终于完成了“乌有王子”三部曲的初稿。然而一直以来，巴克都将写作当作自娱自乐的差事，也从未奢望过自己的作品能够出版成册。实际上，他曾将稿子投出去过一次，无奈杳无音信。因此直到三十岁中期，他都还在对小说不断打磨、修改和重写。
????? 直到一个偶然的机会，巴克的作品辗转到了企鹅出版社的编辑手中。编辑相中了这部作品，在给予很高评价的同时，要求巴克“赶紧想办法，让这堆乱七八糟的东西有个人样”。于是2000年初步完成学业后，巴克回到加拿大参加了“德尔?雷作家在线工作室”，从中学习到宝贵的写作经验和技巧，包括如何安排悬念，如何让故事吸引读者等等。之后，他再次修改，甚至重写部分情节，终于诞生了“乌有王子”系列第一部《昔日魔影》的最终版本。
????? 2003年《昔日魔影》得以出版，让本没抱什么商业野心的斯科特感到意外的是，网站、媒体还有同辈作家对他的赞誉如雪片般飞来。他就像斯蒂芬?埃里克森和约翰?马可（john marco）一样，初出道的小说就获得了成功。在亚马逊网络书店，他的书籍的销售排名仅次于斯蒂芬?金；《出版人周刊》甚至将其列入“2004年度最佳书籍”的书单上。
????? 这给他修改第二集《战士先知》造成了极大压力。据他自己透露，在2003年5月到2004年3月期间，他不仅将大量时间用于书籍中，同时还要在大学里兼职授课，并且还要兼顾自己的学业。每天凌晨五点起床，一周工作七天，只出门过一次——和朋友去看电影《魔戒之王者归来》——连圣诞节和新年也笔耕不辍。天道酬勤，《战士先知》获得了比《昔日魔影》更大的成功，不仅得到奇幻评论界的一致推崇，还迅速打入了美国和英国的市场。如今，“乌有王子”系列第三卷《千层思想》也将于2006年1月正式出版，已经看过底稿的评论家们给予本书大大高于前两卷的评价，称其为“完美的第三部”。
????? 那么，这套备受赞誉的“乌有王子”系列和“埃瓦”世界究竟是个什么面貌呢？
二 “乌有王子”系列和“埃瓦”世界
????? 读者们一定很好奇，这个系列为什么叫做“乌有王子”（Prince of Nothing）？这要从主角的身世说起。在埃瓦世界里，两千年前，非神（the No-God）与人类爆发了一场大战，史称“第一次灾变”，整个北方化为废墟，只有在南方的“三海”地区才有大量人类居住。在北方废墟里残留的人类中，有那么一群出世僧侣，终年以修行度日。三十年前，他们中的一位成员出走，三十年后，他托梦给以前的同伴，要求把他的儿子送去找他。于是，我们的主角阿那苏蒙巴?凯胡斯（Anasurimbor Kellhus）踏上了寻父之路。凯胡斯在与外界的接触中很快认识到，由于从小所受的训练，他可以完全控制自己的感情，并能够通过观察别人的肌肉活动来感觉别人的情绪（这不是魔法，而是物理性的），这样，他就能及时表达爱、恨等情绪来影响别人，并使别人追随自己。他还认识到父亲在外界生活了三十年，真不知能力有多么强大，为了博取南方人的信任，他对外声称自己是北方某个大城的王子（该城其实早已式微）。“乌有王子”则由此而来——“乌有”既指他头衔的虚无，更指代他所带来的混乱和毁灭。
????? 凯胡斯的父亲先前托梦时只说自己身在极南处某个宗教圣城里，当凯胡斯来到南方后，发现这个圣城早已被异教徒所占领，而许多大国正联合起来准备发动圣战，以夺回该地。在他看来，父亲的召唤和圣战的发生同时出现决非偶然。同时，他在南方遇到了一位魔法师诸萨斯?阿凯米恩（Drusus Achamian）。阿凯米恩隶属于一个特殊的魔法宗派，该派先祖为一位大法师，在第一次大灾变的战斗中曾与人类最伟大的君王阿那苏蒙巴（凯胡斯正是这一王朝的后代）并肩战斗。该宗派的成员每天都会做噩梦，梦的是当年大战时，阿那苏蒙巴王对大法师所做的临终预言：伴随着阿那苏蒙巴后裔的回归，第二次大灾变终将出现，而另一位法师将再次辅佐这位后裔。阿凯米恩惊恐地意识到凯胡斯的身份，却又被凯胡斯运用情绪控制的能力所驱使。这时，圣战的聚集达到高潮，各种魔法学派、王公贵族、帝国元帅为争夺主导权，展开了错综复杂的斗争；而为“非神”效劳、一直隐藏在人间的“幕府”也同时开始了活动……凯胡斯却对眼前的一切冷眼旁观。他的目的非常明确：要找到父亲，就要夺取圣战的军队，然后让大军护送自己去！
????? 这就是“乌有王子”系列第一部《昔日魔影》的梗概。所谓“昔日魔影”，指的是人类已然忘却了第一次大灾变的惨烈，而第二次大灾变和“非神”的回归却已悄悄提上了日程。当然，故事线索并非如前述般单纯。在第二部《战士先知》中，圣战正式展开，其间经历了与异教徒的无数场血战，而凯胡斯也在进军途中逐渐向外施加影响，被人们视为半神半佛的“战士先知”；第三部《千层思想》中，大军终于攻到圣城，凯胡斯将揭开父亲的谜底……
????? 严格来说，整个故事的核心情节比较老套，它分为两个层次：表面层是儿子追寻父亲的旅途，背景层是邪神的回归，作家的功力则体现在如何包裹这个情节，让它吸引读者，让读者感觉扑朔迷离，感觉不到“定式”的存在。“乌有王子”系列在这一点上做得相当成功。作者频繁地使用了“过去与未来”，“从前的毁灭与目前的危机”之间的对应，小说中当前发生的任何事都可以在以前的时代找到对应线索，而故事就在这样的互相连扣中发展。同时，故事的主角凯胡斯具有非凡的个人魅力，他大不同于一般奇幻主角经世济国的作风，而是一个毫无感情、毫无偏见、几乎能影响任何人，而别人又感觉不到的人（有点像宗教祖师）。
????? 说到“看点”，就不能不提及作者的语言。作者是个哲学家，小说中的对话和角色思想往往充满了智慧和思辩的意味，建构精致，总让人反复玩味，一读再读。当然，这也导致小说过多倾向于人物内心情绪的交战，可能会让有的读者感觉不适（有些类似罗宾?霍布的“刺客”系列，当然心理活动没那么忧郁）。用美国某位评论家的话说：他的书，好比“尼采遭遇托尔金”。
????? 在埃瓦世界的建构上，巴克严格遵循他的偶像托尔金的道路和制订的规则，将真实世界中各种各样的文化碎片收集起来，重新组合、进行加工和雕塑，用一生来探求它的真实性和可信度。具体到埃瓦世界，其主要骨架来源于希腊化的地中海世界，同时较多地加入了古埃及、闪米特和阿拉伯文化。在通向这个世界的道路上，他用的是现代史诗的技巧——类似于《冰与火之歌》等，并不在卷首或单独地大量描写背景，而是在故事的发生和转折当中自然而然地将世界一点点、碎片似地发散出来。当读者找完之后，便能自行拼出一副宏伟的画卷。他的书，可以让人每次阅读都能发现新内容。在新世纪初出道的史诗奇幻家中，或许只有格雷格?凯斯（Greg Keyes）在“白骨与荆棘的王国”系列中所创造的“科思尼”（Crotheny）世界能与埃瓦世界媲美。
????? “乌有王子”系列是一个封闭的三部曲，但在整个“大故事”里面仅仅是序曲，后面还有两套书（实际上，在作者原来的计划里，“乌有王子”是一个三部曲的第一部，而后两套分别是第二、三部）。“乌有王子”系列为整个大灾变设定背景和氛围，巴克打算将后面两套写成两个二部曲，当然是否会变成三部曲，将由写作进度决定。目前，埃瓦世界的下一部书将在2007年春夏之交出版。
????? 针对“乌有王子”系列，斯科特?巴克接受过采访，以畅谈他的创作心路历程。
您为什么要创作这个题材的奇幻故事？
动机有很多。小时候玩D&D游戏，我常担任地下城主，当时便非常痛恨那些早已编写好的冒险模组，感觉它们缺乏变化，准备自己创作独特的冒险故事。直到现在，虽然早已不玩D&D了，但我仍清楚地记得当年的辛苦，一切只为了让冒险“更精彩”。同时，我发现自己越来越不满意市面上流俗的那些史诗奇幻。我想自己为什么不能写一本自己想读的书呢？譬如能否将《魔戒之王》的宏大和真实与《沙丘》的阴谋和粗犷相结合？1985年左右，这个念头就在我脑海中生了根。
您在小说中创造的“埃瓦”世界具有非凡的深度，以及极为具体的地理、历史、语言、文学、宗教和各种文化。您能谈一谈这一切都是如何做到的吗？
这个过程，如果从我第一次在草稿纸上画出“埃瓦”世界的地图算起的话，大约花了二十多年时间。对我来说，最重要的事是“命名”。通过各种资料和渠道，我搜集到无数姓名和名词，所以当“埃瓦”世界需要更新时就有取之不竭的素材。
这还不够，你需要更多细节来描绘这个“名词”，还需要知道如何组织这些细节。在这个问题上，我想儿童时代对地图的爱好起了特殊作用——在我的一生中，惟一偷窃过的东西便是一张历史地图——地图给了我灵感，一种“如何将真实组织起来”的灵感。也因此“埃瓦”世界具有一种“历史感”，和不同于“中土”世界的“神话感”。
我的大学生活对我也有非常重要的影响，首先，学校要求学生阅读大量原始古籍，而不是现代人的综述著作。实际上，我常常觉得自己还需要再花十年时间埋头学习历史、语言和宗教，如此组织出来的细节才能让自己满意。我常常觉得自己迈进奇幻写作的领域是太早了。
您的第一本小说《昔日魔影》取得了巨大成功，为了达到同样的高度，它的续集《战士先知》的重新修订是否变得更为艰难呢？
两本书有各自的难关。《魔戒之王》的伟大之处之一便在于它是一个在任何世界都能够讲述的故事。中土世界虽然极为复杂，但当你看故事时，不需要依赖那许多的复杂。这席话我常常讲，但听过的人通常表示不解。下面让我解释一下：
当我开始第一次真正意义上重写《昔日魔影》，以达到出版要求时，我参加了“德尔?雷作家在线工作室”，在那里我很快认识到，我虽然能够写东西，但在讲述故事方面却是那么无知和拙劣。一般人根据直觉总以为，在写作中，如果想让某件东西具有神秘感，首先说什么都要透着神秘；如果想野心勃勃地构建一个庞大的世界，首先要不厌其烦地介绍世界中的各种事物。这两者都是大忌。要让读者产生神秘感，首先要给他们一个脚踏实地的空间——不要妄图让什么东西都显得神神秘秘。同样，要让读者对你的世界产生兴趣，首先是要用一条简单清晰的路让他们进入这个世界。
我在托尔金那里学到的重要一课，简单说来可以这样讲：我们这辈人写作的史诗奇幻都是世界胜过故事本身——作家所创造的世界必须像我们真实生活的世界一样，是一个永远都在产生、都能产生数不清的故事的地方。世界要有丰富的细节，而“真实”是细节的基础。但托尔金呢，他把讲述故事和创造世界完美结合了起来，虽然他的世界具有无与伦比的细节，但他一直让整个故事（至少在故事开始时）显得简单，甚至有些愚蠢。这就是所谓的给予读者一条简单清晰的路。
我通过重新写作，很容易地处理掉了“神秘感”方面的问题，但“给予读者一条简单清晰的路”却始终达不到。我的故事和托尔金的故事不一样，虽然其本质抽象出来很简单（就是讲述儿子追寻父亲），但先前已经拉出了无数线索，每个线索又包含了各种细节，难以挽回了。当然，我在写作《昔日魔影》这本史诗奇幻时，乃是把它当成真实的历史著作来加以创造，所以它的复杂有它的好处，但确实给重写造成很多麻烦。我拼命想办法，想让读者更容易接近“三海”与“埃瓦”世界，但到头来，觉得自己还是做得远远不够。
写作《战士先知》时，我已经有了一个具像化的世界，不存在进入问题。从本质上说，一切变得容易多了，只需克服写作中的具体困难。
在您的著作中，尤其是在《战士先知》里，包含了大量惊心动魄的战争场面。在描绘它们时，你没有站在角色的视点上观察，而是使用了一种全能的俯瞰视角——无疑，这增强了您作品的“史诗感”。请问，您是如何想到这样做的呢？您是如何看待故事的“史诗感”呢？
这是我蓄谋已久的措施。
从微观上说，我企图让故事中的“圣战”本身成为一个活的角色，拥有自我的经历、体验、生存和发展，因此，你所谓“全能的俯瞰视角”，实际上是若干个第三人称视角的合集。为使整个“圣战”具备极深的可信度，我需要形形色色的一系列的思维。在我看来，只有首先让人们相信你的故事，才能引起他们的敬畏。
从宏观上讲，我一直对古代史诗怀有特殊兴趣，比如《伊利亚特》等等，我喜欢他们以史诗的感觉来描述战斗。事实上，史诗是我们认识古代的开门匙，它好比一本百科全书，包含了古代社会各方面的知识——我很愿意在这一点上做深入探索。你知道，现代史诗被剥夺了知识承载的功能（所以我们才称史诗为“史诗奇幻”），但作为对古代前辈的模仿，它又企图营造一种让不可能成为可信的氛围。就我看来，这正是史诗奇幻的独特和可爱之处。
在《昔日魔影》和《战士先知》的写作中所加入的历史感是我打一开始就谋划好的：想一想那种感觉，我们属于比自我更大的、更宏伟的存在？其实我们每个人都能自觉地认识到，“世界比我们更大”。这个“更大”有许多体现，它把我们从狭窄的内心中抽离而出，让我们成为“人”。那么，这个“更大”究竟体现在哪些地方？爱人，行动，信仰，历史，群体，或是神灵？当我们个体联合起来时，关系会有什么变化？当某个“更大”反对我们时，又是怎样的情形？我始终认为，只有史诗才能让你深度探索这些方面——我本来想说“史诗奇幻”，但那显得过于奉承了……
从小我就被那些庞大的事物，那些让我觉得自己渺小的事物所吸引，这就是为什么我第一眼就喜欢上了中土世界。不能否认，中土世界具有一种特殊的美，这种美能让我们读者作为人类个体体验到身为个体的脆弱，这种美伴随着敬畏。对我而言，这种通过对从未目睹的奇迹和艰苦卓绝的斗争的描写而产生的敬畏感觉，是“大场景故事”和“史诗”之间的分野。
最后，我还想通过小说来探讨信仰和欲望。我们所有的行动都受我们的信仰或欲望的驱使。人性的这些纬度，都是我小说的探讨范围。
针对当前幻想文学界中的“学院派”对“史诗奇幻”的攻击，您在许多地方表示过不满。能详细谈一谈您的想法吗？
这正是我想谈的话题。
让我们简单一点分类，可以把争论看做是两个集团（当然，实际上它们之间并非径渭分明）——“学院派”和“通俗派”之间的斗争。前者攻击史诗奇幻，而后者捍卫它。
教育和所受的训练决定了鉴赏角度。当建筑师打量建筑物时，他所看的东西和我们眼中看到的并不一样；当音乐家倾听一段旋律时，他所关注的比我们更广泛。因此，当批判家们阅读小说时，他们企图挖掘的东西也不同于一般群众领会的层面。
所以呢，学院派经历了一套特殊标准的训练，而一般民众只受过大众文化的熏陶。由于学院派的训练是建立在大众的普遍社会化之上，因此他们的标准注定更为复杂、更为细致、更为敏感——就好比音乐家的耳朵或建筑师的眼睛。
正因为存在着两套标准，那些为俗人所创造的作品显得更为清楚、更为简单，并为学院派所漠视，他们会就此写出无数刻薄的批评。无知是一件无形的东西——我们并不知道我们无知——所以这些批评往往显得极为武断。而且，我们人类倾向于嫉妒别人的成功，而不是自我批判，因此，当人们要求学院派“多读读我们的作品”时，他们往往回答：“读什么？不过是些纯粹的娱乐节目”。
当然，学院派明白不存在什么“纯粹的娱乐节目”，文化生活中的每件流行都或多或少地表现着社会的意识形态。但我们作为人，通常很容易去观察和定义古代或异国的观念（比如中世纪的“君权神授”等等），要真正观察自己的社会却不容易——我们往往会把社会中许多观念认为是“天生的”和“自明的”。这就是为什么许多流行文化的产物会被统统插上“无聊”的标签，被视为完全没有内涵的“纯粹娱乐”。我们的社会观念决定了我们的视角，而我们很少去审视我们的社会观念，正因为我们很少审视它们，便以为它们不需要审视。
在这个问题上，学院派的趋势，是把自己打扮得权威——正是在这里，一切才产生分裂和争执。武断的评判上加上所谓的“权威”是最糟糕的行为。不仅因为权威本身是一种虚幻，还因为它透着霸道的气息。所以毫不奇怪，很多读者把学院派称为最傲慢的一群人。
从某种程度上说，他们是对的，因为终究学院派没有真正的权威，至少没有神经外科医生或某些自然科学家对于本专业事务的权威，学院派可以自以为权威，但没得到公认的权威并非权威，他们和牧师或哲学家没有区别。
和通常一样，人类混淆概念，制造僵局的能力主宰了一切。争论最后演变为以名字为标签的对骂，学院派越来越坚信自己的优越感（一切难道不是像我说的这样吗？），而普通读者得意于自己标新立异的反叛主义（人们总是倾向于挑选“坏人”）。这样，双方无法达成一致，双方各自回头，沉溺于自己的满足里。
这样的事情时时都在出现。在奇幻文学这个文类中，当今很明显，学院派支持着“新怪谭”，而通俗派打着“史诗奇幻”的旗号。我认为解决问题的关键，首先是要学院派认识到自己没有所谓的制度上的“权威”，他们应当集中精力好好批判商业化的史诗奇幻究竟有哪些弱点，而不是站着高谈阔论（当自己是权威）。但这条路很难走，而我们又都是懒人，叫别人是傻瓜很容易，真正理解别人却要花费心机。对于一般读者，他们也应该认识到自己鉴赏层次的有限，在自己能看到的范围之外，存在着更多的东西。这一切都需要我们谦虚，而我们总是喜欢逞能，所以路还很长。

Balthazar, book thief and bon vivant, arrives in Alexandria to steal from the famous library. But from the moment he steps off the boat, a veiled figure shadows him. Zeinab, literary prostitute and avenging ghost, will be his chaperone through the city of books. With her help, he succeeds in penetrating the underground library. But once inside, instead of ransacking it, he becomes obsessed with the youngest librarian, Shireen, who was born in the library and is herself more than half book. Their love story forms the heart of the novel. Balthazar schemes to get Shireen out of the library. But Zeinab has plans of her own . . . In sumptuous, evocative prose, The Book on Fire explores the relationships between creation and destruction, between belief and imagination, between desire and fulfillment. This new edition contains the bonus story, City of Bones, and a brand new cover. Ursula K. Le Guin said of Keith Miller 's first novel, The Book of Flying, that it was original in concept and elegant in language, and Booklist called it a beautiful and haunting modern fable that reads like exquisite poetry. This second novel amply fulfills the promise of the first.

In his debut novel, literary alchemist Jeff VanderMeer takes us on an unforgettable journey, a triumph of the imagination that reveals the magical and mysterious city of Veniss through three intertwined voices.<br /><br />First, Nicholas, a would-be Living Artist, seeks to escape his demons in the shadowy underground—but in doing so makes a deal with the devil himself. In her fevered search for him, his twin sister, Nicola, spins her own unusual and hypnotic tale as she discovers the hidden secrets of the city. And finally, haunted by Nicola’s sudden, mysterious disappearance and gripped by despair, Shadrach, Nicola’s lover, embarks on a mythic journey to the nightmarish levels deep beneath the surface of the city to bring his love back to light. There he will find wonders beyond imagining…and horrors greater than the heart can bear.<br /><br />By turns beautiful, horrifying, delicate, and powerful, Veniss Underground explores the limits of love, memory, and obsession in a landscape that defies the boundaries of the imagination.<br /><br />This special edition includes the short stories “The Sea, Mendeho, and Moonlight”; “Detectives and Cadavers”; and “A Heart for Lucretia” and the novella Balzac’s War, offering a complete tour of the fantastic world of Veniss.<br /><br />Praise for Veniss Underground<br /><br />“A wonder-filled journey that echoes Dante’s Divine Comedy, the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, and the landscapes of Hieronymus Bosch.” —Publishers Weekly<br /><br />“Audacious . . . full of beautiful sentences, black humor and terrible wonders.” —San Francisco Chronicle<br /><br />“[The novel’s] milieu recalls Philip K. Dick, its passages of prose poetry Edgar Allan Poe, its wry fatalism Jim Thompson. Wow!” — Booklist<br /><br />“In the hands of a brilliant writer like Jeff VanderMeer, writing fantasy can be a means of serious artistic expression . . . also playful, poignant, and utterly, wildly imaginative.” —Peter Straub, author of lost boy lost girl

<em>This is an alternate cover edition for isbn13: 9782253150718</em> <br /><br />Au début des années 90, la narratrice est embauchée par Yumimoto, une puissante firme japonaise. Elle va découvrir à ses dépens l'implacable rigeur de l'autorité d'entreprise, en même temps qu les codes de conduite, incompréhensibles au profane, qui gouvernent la vie sociale au pays du Soleil levant.<br /><br />D'erreurs en maladresses et en échecs, commence alors pour elle, comme dans un mauvais rêve, la descente inexorable dans les degrés de la hiérarchie, jusqu'au rang de surveillante des toilettes, celui de l'humiliation dernière. Une course absurde vers l'abîme - image de la vie -, où l'humour percutant d'Amélie Nothomb fait mouche à chaque ligne.<br /><br />Entre le rire et l'angoisse, cette satire des nouveaux despotismes aux échos kafkaïens a conquis un immense public et valu à l'auteur d'<i>Hygiène de l'assassin</i> le Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française en 1999.

This trade paperback reprint of the Boskone 38 Book contains a sampling of Bokone 38 Guest of Honor, George R.R. Martin: three stories and one teleplay. Introduction by Melisssa Snodgrass. Dustjacket art by Charles Vess.<br /><br />Contents:<br />The Skin Trade (1988)<br />Blood of the Dragon (1996)<br />Black and White and Red All Over (2001)<br />Starport (2001)

Deep inside a palace on the edge of the world, the orphan Nepenthe pores over books in the royal library, translating their languages and learning their secrets. Now sixteen, she knows little of the outside world — except for the documents that traders and travelers bring her to interpret.<br /><br />Then, during the coronation of the new Queen of Raine, a young mage gives Nepenthe a book that has defied translation. Written in a language of thorns, it speaks to Nepenthe's soul — and becomes her secret obsession. And, as the words escape the brambles and reveal themselves, Nepenthe finds her destiny entwined with that of the young queen's. Sooner than she thinks, she will have to choose between the life she has led and the life she was born to lead...<br /><br />

The greatest fantasies of the 20th century are J.R.R. Tolkien's <i>Lord of the Rings</i> and Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea Cycle. Regrettably, the Earthsea Cycle has not received the fame and sales of Tolkien's trilogy. Fortunately, new Earthsea books have appeared in the 21st century, and they are as powerful, beautiful, and imaginative as the first four novels. The fifth novel and sixth book of the Earthsea Cycle is <i>The Other Wind</i>.<p> The sorcerer Alder has the power of mending, but it may have become the power of destruction: every night he dreams of the wall between the land of the living and the land of the dead, and the wall is being dismantled. If the wall is breached, the dead will invade Earthsea. Ged, once Archmage of Earthsea, sends Alder to King Lebannen. Now Alder and the king must join with a burned woman, a wizard of forbidden lore, and a being who is woman and dragon both, in an impossible quest to save Earthsea.</p><p> Ursula K. Le Guin has received the National Book Award, five Nebula and five Hugo Awards, and the Newbery Award, among many other honors. <i>The Other Wind</i> lives up to expectations for one of the greatest fantasy cycles. <i>--Cynthia Ward</i></p>

Five stories of Ursula K. Le Guin's world-renowned realm of Earthsea are collected in one volume. Featuring two classic stories, two original tales, and a brand-new novella, as well as new maps and a special essay on Earthsea's history, languages, literature, and magic.<br /><br />The Finder <br />Darkrose and Diamond <br />The Bones of the Earth<br />On the High Marsh<br />Dragonfly

Years ago, they had escaped together from the sinister Tombs of Atuan—she, an isolated young priestess; he, a powerful wizard. Now she is a farmer's widow, having chosen for herself the simple pleasures of an ordinary life. And he is a broken old man, mourning the powers lost to him through no choice of his own.<br /><br />Once, when they were young, they helped each other at a time of darkness and danger and shared an adventure like no other. Now they must join forces again, to help another in need -- the physically and emotionally scarred child whose own destiny has yet to be revealed.

Nicholas Valiarde is a passionate, embittered nobleman with an enigmatic past. Consumed by thoughts of vengeance, he is consoled only by thoughts of the beautiful, dangerous Madeline. He is also the greatest thief in all of Ile-Rien... On the gas light streets of the city, he assumes the guise of a master criminal, stealing jewels from wealthy nobles to finance his quest for vengeance the murder of Count Montesq. Montesq orchestrated the wrongful execution of Nicholas's beloved godfather on false charges of necromancy--the art of divination through communion with spirits of the dead--a practice long outlawed in the kingdom of Ile-Rein.<br /><br />But now Nicholas's murderous mission is being interrupted by a series of eerie, unexplainable, even fatal events. Someone with tremendous magical powers is opposing him. Children vanish, corpses assume the visage of real people, mortal spells are cast, and traces of necromantic power that hasn't been used for centuries are found. And when a spiritualist unwittingly leads Nicholas to a decrepit mansion, the monstrous nature of his peril finally emerges in harrowing detail. Nicholas and his compatriots must destroy an ancient and awesome evil. Even the help of Ile-Rien's greatest sorcerer may not be enough, for Nicholas faces a woefully mismatched battle--and unthinkable horrors await the loser.

On a clear night in 1942 a hand grenade exploded in a Cairo slum, killing one man instantly. That man is Stern, an obscure gunrunner and morphine addict whose death should be of no significance during the darkest days of the century. In the Western Desert the Germans are advancing from victory to victory, and Rommel's powerful Afrika Corps is threatening to overrun Egypt and seize control of the Middle East. Yet Allied Intelligence takes a very special interest in Stern and in the enigma of his death, which may decide the outcome of the entire war. More and more lies hidden in the question: which side did he serve?