Haunted by disturbing dreams, Judith is drawn into the wilderness, where something is waiting to claim her soul. Set in Georgia, the story takes place in the early years of America. Tiberius, a vampire, has decided to claim Judith as his own, setting in motion events that will be the beginning of a legend. Includes sexual content and language.

Haunted by disturbing dreams, Judith is drawn into the wilderness, where something is waiting to claim her soul. Set in Georgia, the story takes place in the early years of America. Tiberius, a vampire, has decided to claim Judith as his own, setting in motion events that will be the beginning of a legend. Includes sexual content and language.

Nikalys and his sister Kenders grew up living a peaceful life in the quiet farming village of Yellow Mud… until the blistering hot day when they go to the nearby lake for a swim. When they reach the lake, they spy an unknown mage conjure a massive water creature hundreds of feet tall. They watch in horror as the water creature plunges toward their home, apparently drowning all in its path, including their parents and older brother, Jak. As the only survivors, brother and sister strike out on their own, hoping to discover the reason their home and family was destroyed. They must make their way through a countryside where magic is outlawed, punishable by imprisonment or even death while struggling with the revelation that Kenders has magical abilities herself. Although Kenders can feel and touch the many-colored “strands” of magic she has no idea how to use them until she and Nikalys are attacked by a pack of wolves and Kenders instinctively summons a bolt of lightning, immediately collapsing when the effort drains her of all her energy. From nowhere a giant lynx appears and saves the pair from certain death and then miraculously morphs into his natural self, a seven-foot-tall man. The shape changer’s name is Broedi and when the time is right, he reveals to the siblings that he is one of the original White Lions and he recites to them an ancient prophecy that tells of the coming of a new and even more terrible war than the one centuries ago. The evil Gods of Chaos, Strife, and Sorrow and Pain would combine efforts to unite the orcs, gnolls and razorfiends --- normally sworn enemies. The forces of good would be led by two children of other White Lions; those children are Nikalys and Kenders, the Progeny. As brother and sister struggle with the revelation that the only parents they could remember were not their birth parents, some of the Gods and Goddesses were busy setting other events in motion. Others people – strangers at first – would gather and become allies of the Progeny. Together, they were about to be caught up in the greatest conflict the world had ever seen. Ancient, powerful forces still seek the Progeny on their travels, some intent to eliminate the threat they pose, some hoping to help them fulfill a destiny of which they are unaware. Myths and legends come to life, whisking the pair along a journey they never could have imagined possible.

Twisted bodies, deformed faces, aberrant behavior, and abnormal desires characterized the hideous creatures of classic Hollywood horror, which thrilled audiences with their sheer grotesqueness. Most critics have interpreted these traits as symptoms of sexual repression or as metaphors for other kinds of marginalized identities, yet Angela M. Smith conducts a richer investigation into the period's social and cultural preoccupations. She finds instead a fascination with eugenics and physical and cognitive debility in the narrative and spectacle of classic 1930s horror, heightened by the viewer's desire for visions of vulnerability and transformation.

Reading such films as Dracula (1931), Frankenstein (1931), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931), Freaks (1932), and Mad Love (1935) against early-twentieth-century disability discourse and propaganda on racial and biological purity, Smith showcases classic horror's dependence on the narratives of eugenics and physiognomics. She also notes the genre's conflicted and often contradictory visualizations. Smith ultimately locates an indictment of biological determinism in filmmakers' visceral treatments, which take the impossibility of racial improvement and bodily perfection to sensationalistic heights. Playing up the artifice and conventions of disabled monsters, filmmakers exploited the fears and yearnings of their audience, accentuating both the perversity of the medical and scientific gaze and the debilitating experience of watching horror. Classic horror films therefore encourage empathy with the disabled monster, offering captive viewers an unsettling encounter with their own impairment. Smith's work profoundly advances cinema and disability studies, in addition to general histories concerning the construction of social and political attitudes toward the Other.

"Blending the real world with things beyond our nature is not an easy task, but Hopkins has done just that with PROGENY. This is a meaty meal of thrills, but never skimps on the details that give the story a bite of reality, and, thankfully, freshness. This is a book not cut from the same cloth as other thrillers that tread similar ground. Highly recommended." - Ryne Douglas Pearson, author of SIMPLE SIMON and screenwriter of the boxoffice hit KNOWING "Shawn Hopkins has blended several stories, myths and legends from the past and brought them together into a believable adventure that will keep you up at night until you finish it. You'll question what you believe and want to learn more. Well researched and well written." -Douglas Dorow, author of THE NINTH DISTRICT "In a story I can best describe as The DaVinci Code meets Stargate, Hopkins weaves fallen angels, the gods of ancient mythology and the Bermuda Triangle into an intricate tale whose true focus is in the power of redemption... His proficiency in scripture, the Book of Enoch, and ancient civilizations makes this novel credible and a little frightening... PROGENY is equal parts religious thriller and action-packed roller coaster ride. Hopkins may write Christian-themed fiction, but he doesn't play it safe: it's a gritty, bloody tale that will make you think, question and cringe from one page to the next." - Christopher Starr, author of THE ROAD TO HELL An Ancient Evil from the very beginning is still here... Trapped behind the guise of another reality, it has finally devised a plan of escape... It needs just one thing... YOU Months have passed since John Carter's estranged brother, Henry, has gone missing after sailing off to Bermuda in search of a mysterious author whose writings deal with the esoteric traditions of past ages - something Henry had recently become obsessed with. Reluctantly, John agrees to join Henry's old Special Forces Teammates on a mission to discover the truth behind Henry’s strange disappearance. But upon arriving in Bermuda, John quickly learns that all is not as it seems - webs of secrets ultimately leading him to personal revelations of his own and the realization that what is happening might actually be more about him than about his missing brother. The evil that awaits John on the other end of the short flight to the British paradise is more sinister than anything he's ever witnessed. Not even his own disturbing past can compare to the ancient fingers that are drawing him into another world… A world where all Hell is trying to break loose around him.

The Pantheon in Rome is one of the grand architectural statements of all ages. This richly illustrated book isolates the reasons for its extraordinary impact on Western architecture, discussing the Pantheon as a building in its time but also as a building for all time.

Mr. MacDonald traces the history of the structure since its completion and examines its progeny--domed rotundas with temple-fronted porches built from the second century to the twentieth--relating them to the original. He analyzes the Pantheon's design and the details of its technology and construction, and explores the meaning of the building on the basis of ancient texts, formal symbolism, and architectural analogy. He sees the immense unobstructed interior, with its disk of light that marks the sun's passage through the day, as an architectural metaphor for the ecumenical pretensions of the Roman Empire.

Past discussions of the Pantheon have tended to center on design and structure. These are but the starting point for Mr. MacDonald, who goes on to show why it ranks--along with Cheops's pyramid, the Parthenon, Wren's churches, Mansard's palaces-as an architectural archetype.

When a girl is mutilated under a full moon, two detectives search for clues to the killer's identity in Moon of the Wolf; and in Progeny of the Adder, beautiful blondes meet grisly ends in the nation's capital. Reprint.

“No fate other than the one I choose.” The timeless creed, and tattoo, bore by the Rousseau’s— a vampire clan with the purest bloodline of any vampire family. Out of this clandestine group came one who was different, yet the same: Ascher - a half-bloodling— half- human, half vampire.

Ascher questions the purpose for his existence and which world he truly belongs to: the human world or the vampire world. Two months from sealing to Ursula— a prearranged union to a woman he abhors — he’s at his wit’s end. He knows if he calls off the sealing, the Romanian clan will strike with deadly force, but he cannot see eternity with a cold empty shell of a woman like Ursula.

Just when he thought life was complicated enough, he meets Shauna— a beautiful, bi-racial human wiccan — and immediately develops an unshakable attraction to her. She makes him feel alive and vital despite his origins and Ascher makes a decision that turns his immortal world upside down.

“No fate other than the one I choose.” The timeless creed, and tattoo, bore by the Rousseau’s— a vampire clan with the purest bloodline of any vampire family. Out of this clandestine group came one who was different, yet the same: Ascher - a half-bloodling— half- human, half vampire.

Ascher questions the purpose for his existence and which world he truly belongs to: the human world or the vampire world. Two months from sealing to Ursula— a prearranged union to a woman he abhors — he’s at his wit’s end. He knows if he calls off the sealing, the Romanian clan will strike with deadly force, but he cannot see eternity with a cold empty shell of a woman like Ursula.

Just when he thought life was complicated enough, he meets Shauna— a beautiful, bi-racial human wiccan — and immediately develops an unshakable attraction to her. She makes him feel alive and vital despite his origins and Ascher makes a decision that turns his immortal world upside down.

When her mother is taken from her in a terrible accident, Alexis finds herself facing some previously unknown truths. Her best friend, Keats, is her only confidante when she is faced with an apparent stalker who claims that Alexis’ entire life is built around a lie. Alexis is suddenly thrown into a whirlwind world of danger and secret agendas, of demigods and deities.

When a brutal, self-righteous god decides that Alexis is his best hope for retrieving an ancient artifact, she finds herself on the self-discovery journey of a lifetime - tracking a killer and a kidnapper - and facing conniving and dangerous foes along the way.

She will have to come to grips with who she truly is and just what she might be capable of if she is to survive long enough to save the one person in the world for whom she cares most.

Ancient Greek mythology comes to life in this unique coming-of-age tale that spans the globe and the heart of a girl who only wants to be normal. But, just what is normal in a world like this?

When her mother is taken from her in a terrible accident, Alexis finds herself facing some previously unknown truths. Her best friend, Keats, is her only confidante when she is faced with an apparent stalker who claims that Alexis’ entire life is built around a lie. Alexis is suddenly thrown into a whirlwind world of danger and secret agendas, of demigods and deities.

When a brutal, self-righteous god decides that Alexis is his best hope for retrieving an ancient artifact, she finds herself on the self-discovery journey of a lifetime - tracking a killer and a kidnapper - and facing conniving and dangerous foes along the way.

She will have to come to grips with who she truly is and just what she might be capable of if she is to survive long enough to save the one person in the world for whom she cares most.

Ancient Greek mythology comes to life in this unique coming-of-age tale that spans the globe and the heart of a girl who only wants to be normal. But, just what is normal in a world like this?