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King Arthur has fascinated the Western world for over a thousand years and yet we still know nothing more about him now than we did then. Layer upon layer of heroics and exploits has been piled upon him to the point where history, legend and myth have become hopelessly entangled. In recent years, there has been a sort of scholarly consensus that 'the once and future king' was clearly some sort of Romano-British warlord, heroically stemming the tide of wave after wave of Saxon invaders after the end of Roman rule. But surprisingly, and no matter how much we enjoy this narrative, there is actually next-to-nothing solid to support this theory except the wishful thinking of understandably bitter contemporaries. The sources and scholarship used to support the 'real Arthur' are as much tentative guesswork and pushing 'evidence' to the extreme to fit in with this version as anything involving magic swords, wizards and dragons. Even Archaeology remains silent. Arthur is, and always has been, the square peg that refuses to fit neatly into the historians round hole. Arthur: Shadow of a God gives a fascinating overview of Britain's lost hero and casts a light over an often-overlooked and somewhat inconvenient truth; Arthur was almost certainly not a man at all, but a god. He is linked inextricably to the world of Celtic folklore and Druidic traditions. Whereas tyrants like Nero and Caligula were men who fancied themselves gods; is it not possible that Arthur was a god we have turned into a man? Perhaps then there is a truth here. Arthur, 'The King under the Mountain'; sleeping until his return will never return, after all, because he doesn't need to. Arthur the god never left in the first place and remains as popular today as he ever was. His legend echoes in stories, films and games that are every bit as imaginative and fanciful as that which the minds of talented bards such as Taliesin and Aneirin came up with when the mists of the 'dark ages' still swirled over Britain - and perhaps that is a good thing after all, most at home in the imaginations of children and adults alike - being the Arthur his believers want him to be.
'A revealing and well-researched insight into the origins of the legend and its traditional influences.' - Robert White, chairman of the Worldwide Robin Hood Society We all have an idea of Robin Hood, England's most famous outlaw: a handsome and hooded woodsman in Lincoln green emerges from the crowd, effortlessly looses his bow at his target and splits another arrow in two to the astonishment of the spectators. We can imagine Robin Hood, but why, and where have our ideas of the man actually come from? What is most surprising about the legend of Robin Hood and his Merry Men is how much his tales have deviated since they were first conceived. We start almost a thousand years ago with a group of bandits, comical and criminal in equal measure, who despised the Church, kidnapped strangers and waged war on lords and landowners, but astonishingly, and perhaps inexplicably, Robin was destined for greater things. Robin, like his readership, adapted, evolved and changed with the long centuries. We see him turn into a righteous partisan, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor and heroically defending the people from the tyranny of King John until the return of Richard the Lionheart. Stories that we think are ancient are often less than a century old, politically correct additions from the nascent age of cinema. We find him now a Hollywood heart-throb, with perfect teeth, designer stubble and an almost supernatural skill in combat and romance as he conquers enemies and lovers alike. And, as history always reminds us, the stories we know are rarely the stories that are true. Robin Hood: English Outlaw gives a fascinating account of the famed rogue, unraveling the layers of legend and myth in search of the man who has always been an enigma. The story of Robin is inextricably linked with the story of England; he shares our greatest achievements, our proudest moments and our darkest chapters. And this is the enduring legacy of Robin Hood, whether man or myth, whether hero or villain, he is part of England's story. We know Robin, the Merry Men and Sherwood Forest; we just don't remember why.
WINNER OF THE 'BLKDOG BOOK THE YEAR 2020' AWARD It's September 2019, and the United States are embroiled in a second Cold War with Russia. Eminent British professor, and professional miser, Harold Dunn, has spent the last six years building the Allies' nuclear deterrent; a bomb nine thousand times more powerful than the one dropped on Nagasaki in 1945. When Dunn is invited to the missile's new home, and one of the most infamous military facilities in the world, he accepts with the apprehension of anyone due to visit Area 51. Following the viral success of the hashtag #StormArea51, Dunn finds the base crawling with boozy UFOlogists, thuggish security guards, and mysterious Agents of the Government. However, he soon realises that these earthly foes are the least of his worries, when he and his de-facto tour guide, Dr Lisa Tsai, discover hostile forces orchestrating a war that will destroy the human race. Extraterrestrials aren't out there. They're already here. "'The X Files' meets 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, loved it." - Kyt Wright, Sirkkusaga
A land of plenty where everyone was happy? Pool couldn't think of anything worse. What this place needed was a famine. Or a war. For generations Rebels have been risking their lives over treacherous seas, razor sharp rocks and fierce currents to flee from the tyranny of Kamoria and seek refuge in the land they call Langrinia. For generations the descendants of the surviving Rebels have done all they can for those who still struggle over. For generations they have lived in peace with the Forest and its elusive people. But now a new survivor has washed up, battered and bleeding to death, insisting that he be tended by no one but the apprentice healer, Neekra. But when Neekra discovers that he is none other than Pool, bastard son of Supreme Lawmaker Daner of Kamoria, the most feared High Ruler of all, she needs more than her healer skills to help him lose his violent past and accept their peaceful ways. And why is he so interested in her? Now a war with Kamoria is brewing and Pool their only hope - but whose side is he really on? Teach him to love, my Neekra. Do not let him burn us.
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