A New York Times Bestseller & Amazon Editor's Pick! After more than five hundred years of exile, the heir to the empyre is wary about his sudden reassignment to active duty on the Goblin War’s front lines. His assignment to rescue an outpost leads to a dead-end canyon deep inside enemy territory, and his suspicion turns to dread when he discovers the stronghold does not exist. But whoever went to the trouble of planning his death to look like a casualty of war did not know he would be assigned to the Seventh Sikaria Auxiliary Squadron. In the depths of an unforgiving jungle, a legend is about to be born, and the world of Elan will never be the same. From Michael J. Sullivan, the New York Times, USA Today, and Washington Post bestselling author, a new adventure begins with the first book in The Rise and Fall trilogy. Although this series is set in the same world as the Riyria novels and the Legends of the First Empire books, it is a standalone tale. As such, no prior knowledge of the other works is required to enjoy this tale to its fullest.

A HERO TO SOME. A VILLAIN TO MANY. THE TRUTH FOREVER BURIED. The man who became known as Esrahaddon is reported to have destroyed the world’s greatest empire — but there are those who believe he saved it. Few individuals are as divisive, but all agree on three facts: He was exiled to the wilderness, hunted by a goblin priestess, and sentenced to death by a god — all before the age of eight. How he managed to survive and why people continued to fear his name a thousand years later has always been a mystery . . . until now. From the three-time New York Times best-selling author Michael J. Sullivan, Esrahaddon is the final novel in The Rise and Fall trilogy. This latest set of stories sits snugly between the Legends of the First Empire series and the Riyria books (Revelations and Chronicles). With this tale, Michael continues his tradition of unlikely heroes who must rise to the call when history knocks, demanding to be let in. This is the nineteenth full-length novel in a body of work that started in 2008 and spans four series.

Some truths are dangerous, certain secrets best concealed, and one story never should have been written at all. Being an unwanted twin in the imperial line of succession, Farilane becomes a scholar, an adventurer, and—in a time when reading is forbidden—a hunter of books. Her singular obsession is finding the mythical Book of Brin, a tome not just lost but intentionally buried. Although she is respected and beloved by the Teshlor Knights, not even their legendary skills can protect her, for what she finds is more dangerous than what she sought. From the three-time New York Times best-selling author Michael J. Sullivan, Farilane is the second novel in The Rise and Fall trilogy. This latest set of stories sits snugly between the Legends of the First Empire series and the Riyria books (Revelations and Chronicles). With this tale, Michael continues his tradition of unlikely heroes who must rise to the call when history knocks, demanding to be let in. This series will conclude in the summer of 2023 with the release of Esrahaddon, the final piece in a narrative that began in 2008 and contains nineteen full-length novels spread across four series.

Two thieves want answers. Riyria is born...
For more than a year Royce Melborn has tried to forget Gwen DeLancy, the woman who saved him and his partner Hadrian Blackwater from certain death. Unable to get her out of his mind, Roycereturns to Medford with Hadrian but the two receive a very different reception --- Gwen refuses to see them. The victim of abuse by a powerful noble, she suspects that Royce will ignore any danger in his desire for revenge. By turning the thieves away, Gwen hopes to once more protect them. What she doesn't realize is what the two are capable of --- but she's about to find out.
Chronological Order"The Crown Tower ("Riyria Chronicles""#1)"The Rose and the Thorn" (Riyria Chronicles #2)"Theft of Swords" (Riyria Revelations #1 & #2): contains "The Crown Conspiracy" & "Avempartha""Rise of Empire "(Riyria Revelations #3 & #4): contains "Nyphron Rising" & "The Emerald Storm""Heir of Novron "(Riyria Revelations #5 & #6): contains "Wintertide" & "Percepliquis"

Since the end of the Cold War many new countries have been created, and several new wars have broken out, resulting in new forms of politics and government for which Cold War paradigms are inadequate. Using extensive exhibits, this book provides a comparative framework for understanding governance in today's world. The author selects 100 countries as worthy of greater investigation, highlighting 50 of them as prone to ethnic-based problems and 33 as beset by violent domestic conflict, and provides a comparative political analysis of their governing structures.

The 100 countries covered are spread equitably across five geographical zones--Europe, Islamic Zone, Africa, Asia, and the Western Hemisphere. Dividing the 100 selected states into polity types, the author studies five civilian polities encompassing 50 states and five military polities embracing another 50 states. The volume relates polity types to the ethnic and military challenges facing them and analyzes the phenomena of nationalism and militarism. In addition to numerous tables and other exhibits, the author uses Formats of Analysis for the orderly display of comparative data on states of particular polity types. This study provides the student of comparative politics with analytic and conceptual tools to understand governance in the post-Cold War world. The work is a worthy addition to the literature of comparative political analysis.

This book provides a comparative analysis of 30 American interventions into Third World countries. An historical approach is used to place the featured cases into a more general history of American Diplomacy. The author uses his assessments to prove that U.S. foreign policy has been driven by the goal of being the ultimate power in the global capitalist economic system. The author makes his work unique by giving a critical view of America's place in the world during an anticipated time of war and raised patriotism. He provides a scholarly look at U.S. diplomacy leading up to the era of "the War on Terror." Sullivan explains how over the past 50 years the U.S. has come to succeed Europe as ruler of the global economic system. The "political systems" which have been promoted by the U.S. to preserve worldwide capitalism range from one-party rule to monarchies and recurring civil war. The interventions discussed have proved to be short-term successes for U.S. policy, but more often tragic for the local societies affected. Sullivan draws on his 1996 release Comparing State Polities to create a number of tables that place U.S. involvement into geographic and hierarchic perspective. The reader is ultimately provided with a provocative thesis that challenges traditional interpretations of America's role in the world. This book will be an asset to any undergraduate college student taking classes in political science or history. It will also appeal to a general audience.

Each culture has its own myths and legends, but only one is shared, and it is feared by all. With Age of Myth, Age of Swords, and Age of War, fantasy master Michael J. Sullivan riveted readers with a tale of unlikely heroes locked in a desperate battle to save mankind. After years of warfare, humanity has gained the upper hand and has pushed the Fhrey to the edge of their homeland, but no farther. Now comes the pivotal moment. Persephone's plan to use the stalemate to seek peace is destroyed by an unexpected betrayal that threatens to hand victory to the Fhrey and leaves a dear friend in peril. Her only hope lies in the legend of a witch, a forgotten song, and a simple garden door.

"Measuring Global ValueS" is a major book that represents an enormous research effort. The book enables careful and systematic comparisons over time and across space as to whether a society is improving or losing ground. . . . It provides world order scholars with a fully elaborated framework for future research. . . . Sullivan's] book is certain to be the foundational work for future developments relating to normative assessment. "Richard Falk Princeton University"

This volume profiles 162 countries using as a basis for comparison more than a hundred indicators measuring how each country reflects 5 global values: peace, economic well-being, ecological balance, social justice, and political participation. The use of data-based management software systems for the collection of information results in a broad-based analysis which yields thoroughly documented conclusions and affirms the five values as appropriate evaluative tools.

Introductory material outlines the methods used in the study, defines the measurement criteria, and identifies the study's objectives. Each of the five subject areas is then addressed separately, its findings supported by numerous tables and excerpts, and its data supplemented by a bibliography at the end of each chapter. Students of political science as well as global policy scholars will consider this unique application of current technology to the examination of global values a significant contribution to literature on the subject.

THEY KILLED THE KING. THEY PINNED IT ON TWO MEN. THEY MADE A BAD DECISION ... Royce Melborn is a superb thief, his partner, Hadrian Blackwater is a skilled mercenary. Together they make a profitable living as agents-for-hire to wealthy nobles until someone sets them up to take the blame for the murder of the king. Captured and sentenced to death the two are saved by an unlikely woman with a simple demand that will change the lives of the thieves, the course of a kingdom, and the foundation of an empire.

Two men who hate each other. One impossible mission. A legend in the making.
Hadrian Blackwater, a warrior with nothing to fight for, is paired with Royce Melborn, a thieving assassin with nothing to lose. Hired by an old wizard, they must steal a treasure that no one can reach. The Crown Tower is the impregnable remains of the grandest fortress ever built and home to the realm's most prized possessions. But it isn't gold or jewels that the wizard is after, and if he can just keep them from killing each other, they just might succeed.
Chronological Order"The Crown Tower ("Riyria Chronicles""#1)"The Rose and the Thorn" (Riyria Chronicles #2)"Theft of Swords" (Riyria Revelations #1 & #2): contains "The Crown Conspiracy" & "Avempartha""Rise of Empire "(Riyria Revelations #3 & #4): contains "Nyphron Rising" & "The Emerald Storm""Heir of Novron "(Riyria Revelations #5 & #6): contains "Wintertide" & "Percepliquis"
*** Fantasy Faction's Top 10 Anticipated Books for 2013 ****** BestFantasyBooks.com Most Anticipated Books of 2013 ****** Ranting Dragon's 50 Fantasy & Sci-Fi Novels to Look Forward to in 2013 ***

The birth of the Nyphron Empire has brought war to Melengar. To save her kingdom, Princess Arista runs a desperate gamble when she defies her brother and hires Royce and Hadrian to perform a dangerous mission behind the enemy's lines. As the power of the Nyphron Empire grows, so does Royce's suspicion that the wizard Esrahaddon is using the thieves as pawns in his own shadowy struggle for power. To find the truth, he must unravel the secret of Hadrian's past. What he discovers leads the thieves to the ends of the world on a journey amid treachery and betrayals, forcing Hadrian to face a past he hoped never to see again.

The New Empire intends to celebrate its victory over the Nationalists with a day that will never be forgotten. On the high holiday of Wintertide, the empress will be married, and Degan Gaunt and the Witch of Melengar will be publically executed. Once the empress suffers a fatal accident, everything will be perfect. There is only one problem-Royce and Hadrian have finally found the Heir of Novron.

The epic battle between humankind and their godlike rulers finally ignites in the masterful follow-up to Age of Myth and Age of Swords. The alliance of humans and renegade Fhrey is fragile--and about to be tested as never before. Persephone keeps the human clans from turning on one another through her iron will and a compassionate heart. The arrogant Fhrey are barely held in check by their leader, Nyphron, who seeks to advance his own nefarious agenda through a loveless marriage that will result in the betrayal of the person Persephone loves most: Raithe, the God Killer. As the Fhrey overlords marshal their army and sorcerers to crush the rebellion, old loyalties will be challenged while fresh conspiracies will threaten to undo all that Persephone has accomplished. In the darkest hour, when hope is all but lost, new heroes will rise . . . but at what terrible cost? Magic, fantasy, and mythology collide in Michael J. Sullivan's Legends of the First Empire series: AGE OF MYTH - AGE OF SWORDS - AGE OF WAR

The migration and settlement of 11 million unauthorized immigrants is among the leading political challenges facing the United States today. The majority of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. have been here for more than five years, and are settling into American communities, working, forming families, and serving in the military, even though they may be detained and deported if they are discovered. An open question remains as to what to do about unauthorized immigrants who are already living in the United States. On one hand it is important that the government sends a message that future violations of immigration law will not be tolerated. On the other sits a deeper ethical dilemma that is the focus of this book: what do the state and citizens owe to unauthorized immigrants who have served their adopted country? Earned Citizenship argues that long-term unauthorized immigrant residents should be able to earn legalization and a pathway to citizenship through service in their adopted communities. Their service would act as restitution for immigration law violations. Military service in particular would merit naturalization in countries with a strong citizen-soldier tradition, including the United States. The book also considers the civic value of caregiving as a service to citizens and the country, contending that family immigration policies should be expanded to recognize the importance of caregiving duties for dependents. This argument is part of a broader project in political theory and public policy aimed at reconciling civic republicanism with a feminist ethic of care, and its emphasis on dependency work. As a whole, Earned Citizenship provides a non-humanitarian justification for legalizing unauthorized immigrants based on their contributions to citizens and institutions in their adopted nation.