Fiction

J.R.R. TOLKIEN
THE LORD OF THE RINGS

THE HOBBIT
THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING
THE TWO TOWERS
THE RETURN OF THE KING

(c) New Line Productions, Inc. All rights reserved. THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY and the names of the characters, items, events and places therein are trademarks of The Saul Zaentz Company d/b/a Middle-earth Enterprises under license to New Line Productions, Inc. (s12)
Motion Picture Artwork (c) 2012 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Beginning with Dante's liberation from Hell, Purgatory relates his ascent, accompanied by Virgil, of the Mount of Purgatory - a mountain of nine levels, formed from rock forced upwards when God threw Satan into depths of the earth. As he travels through the first seven levels, Dante observes the sinners who are waiting for their release into Paradise, and through these encounters he is himself transformed into a stronger and better man. For it is only when he has learned from each of these levels that he can ascend to the gateway to Heaven: the Garden of Eden. The second part of one of the greatest epic poems, Purgatory is an enthralling Christian allegory of sin, redemption and ultimate enlightenment.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Condemned to burn in the eighth circle of Dante's Hell,

Odysseus, legendary thief and liar of Homer's Odyssey and

Iliad, decides he is going to break out. His adventure begins

with a prayer to Athena Parthenos, who appears to him bear-

ing gifts: his armor, his famous bow, a mysterious leather

pouch, and seven unusual arrows. She then sends him on

a quest through the Underworld along with Diomedes, his

friend from the Trojan War who had been sharing in his eter-

nal punishment. To complete their escape, the goddess warns

them, they must recover their squandered honor and learn to

use "the eighth arrow".

At turns exciting, humorous, and edifying, this action-

packed epic follows Odysseus and Diomedes as they journey

through all the circles of Dante's Hell, where they encoun-

ter various characters from Greek mythology, ancient his-

tory, and Renaissance literature, including Helen of Troy,

Cerberus, Penelope, Homer, Harpies, Centaurs, and eventu-

ally Satan himself. With witty banter and wily stratagems,

the two Greek warriors fight their way through the obstacles

that stand between them and redemption.

The Eighth Arrow is a thoroughly entertaining jailbreak story. Full of allusions to great works of old, it is also gently educa-

tional, and as such it can be read as a guide or a companion

to Dante's Inferno and the works of Homer.

Kit stared at his fellow questors. "Is this it?"

It started with small, seemingly insignificant wrinkles in time: A busy bridge suddenly disappears, spilling cars into the sea. A beast from another realm roams modern streets. Napoleon's army appears in 1930s Damascus ready for battle. But that's only the beginning as entire realities collide and collapse.

The questors are spread throughout the universe. Mina is stuck on a plain of solid ice, her only companion an angry cave lion named Baby. Tony and Gianni are monitoring the cataclysmic reversal of the cosmic expansion--but coming up short on answers. And Burleigh is languishing in a dreary underground dungeon--his only hope of survival the very man he tried to kill.

Kit and Cass are back in the Stone Age trying to reach the Spirit Well. But an enormous yew tree has grown over the portal, effectively cutting off any chance of return. Unless someone can find a solution--and fast--all Creation will be destroyed in the universal apocalypse known as The End of Everything.

In the final volume of the fantastic Bright Empires series, Stephen R. Lawhead brings the multi-stranded tale to a stunning and immensely satisfying conclusion.

"Jonathan Cahn has come up with an understanding of a pattern in the Scripture for God's judgment on ancient Israel being played out in the United States of America now. The Harbinger is the best explanation I've come across to understand the mystery of what's behind 9/11, the war in Iraq, the crash of Wall Street, and much more. This end-time revelation puts him in a new category!"
--Sid Roth Author and host of It's Supernatural and Messianic Vision

"The Harbinger

Is it possible...
That there exists an ancient mystery that holds the secret of America's future?
That this mystery lies behind everything from 9/11 to the collapse of the global economy?
That ancient harbingers of judgment are now manifesting in America?
That God is sending America a prophetic message of what is yet to come?

Before its end as a nation, there appeared in ancient Israel nine specific warnings and omens of national destruction - These same nine Harbingers are now manifesting in America with profound ramifications for America's future and end-time prophecy.

Hidden in an ancient biblical prophecy from Isaiah, the mysteries revealed in The Harbinger are so precise that they foretell recent American events down to the exact days... the 3,000-year-old mystery that revealed the exact date of the stock market collapse of 2008... the ancient prophecy that was proclaimed from the floor of the US Senate and then came true...and more. The revelations are so specific that even the most hardened skeptic will find it hard to put down. Though it sounds like the plot of a Hollywood thriller - IT'S REAL.

The prophetic mysteries are factual but revealed through a riveting narrative the reader will find hard to put down. The Harbinger opens with the appearance of a man burdened with a message he has received from a mysterious figure called The Prophet. The Prophet has given him nine seals, each containing a message about America s future. As he tells of his encounters with the Prophet, from a skyscraper in New York City, to a rural mountaintop, to Capitol Hill, to Ground Zero, the mystery behind each seal is revealed. As the story unfolds, each revelation becomes another piece in a larger and larger puzzle, the ramifications of which are, even now, altering the course of America and the world.

In this magnificent and stirring novel, Louis de Wohl turns his famed narrative skill to the story of the soldier and merchant's son who might have been right-hand man to a king ... and who became instead the most beloved of all saints. Set against the tempestuous background of 13th Century Italy and Egypt, here is the magnificent and inspiring story of Francis Bernardone, the brash, pleasure-loving young officer who was to become immortalized as St. Francis of Assisi.

The story teems with action, pageantry and intrigue with finely conceived characters-the beautiful, saintly Clare, Frederick, the hawk-faced King of Sicily and Holy Roman Emperor, the Sultan Al Kamil, Pope Innocent III. The scene shifts from Assisi, Rome and Sicily to the deadly sands of Egypt.

This book was made into a feature film by 20th Century Fox entitled Francis of Assisi, now available on video from Ignatius Press.

Ethan McQuarry is a young lighthouse keeper on a tiny island, the rugged outcropping of easternmost Cape Breton Island on the Atlantic Ocean. A man without any family, he sees himself as a silent vigilant, performing his duties courageously year after year, with an admirable sense of responsibility.

He cherishes his solitude and is grateful that his interactions with human beings are rare. Even so, he is haunted by his aloneness in the world and by a feeling that his life is meaningless. His courage, his integrity, his love of the sea and wildlife, of practical skills and of learning are, in the end, not enough. He is faced with internal storms and sometimes literal storms of terrifying power.

From time to time he becomes aware that messengers are sent to him from what he calls the awakeness in existence, the listeningness. But he cannot at first recognize them as messengers nor understand what they might be telling him, until he finds himself caught up in catastrophic events, and begins to see the mysterious undercurrents of reality--and the hidden face of love.

They that go down to the sea in ships, trading upon the waters, they see the works of the Lord and his wonders in the deep.
- Psalm 107: 23

Hurtled into the Wood between the Worlds, the children soon find that they can enter many worlds through the mysterious pools there. In one world they encounter the evil Queen Jadis, who wreaks havoc in the streets of London when she is accidentally brought back with them. When they finally manage to pull her out of London, unintentionally taking along Uncle Andrew and a coachman with his horse, they find themselves in what will come to be known as the land of Narnia.