The bastard sons of kings play a noble role in fantasy: not only were King Arthur and Modred by-blows, but it is often suggested that Merlin himself came to power from the "wrong side of the bed." While Hobb's offering has a few too many illegitimate heirs backstabbing around, this is still a delightful take on the powers and politics behind the throne. Fitz, who is often called the "Boy" or the "Bastard," was begotten by good Prince Chivalry upon some "peasant" woman. At age six, he is given over to the safekeeping of the prince's man, Burrich. Fitz's impolitic existence causes the prince to abdicate his claim to the throne, and he and his wife leave the court, and the boy, behind. Fitz has inherited the "Skill," a mind-bending talent, and also has the ability to meld his thoughts with those of nonhuman creatures and to mentally "repel" physical advances. When Fitz finally comes to King Shrewd's attention, he is given over to the Royal Assassin's tutelage and trained to carry out the king's devious plans. The novel's conceit-that it offers Fitz's memoirs from childhood through adolescence-allows for several sequels. A gleaming debut in the crowded field of epic fantasies and Arthurian romances.

An enthralling literary debut that evokes one of the most momentous events in history, the birth of printing in medieval Germany — a story of invention, intrigue, and betrayal, rich in atmosphere and historical detail, told through the lives of the three men who made it possible.

Youthful, ambitious Peter Schoeffer is on the verge of professional success as a scribe in Paris when his foster father, wealthy merchant and bookseller Johann Fust, summons him home to corrupt, feud-plagued Mainz to meet “a most amazing man.”

Johann Gutenberg, a driven and caustic inventor, has devised a revolutionary — and to some, blasphemous — method of bookmaking: a machine he calls a printing press. Fust is financing Gutenberg’s workshop and he orders Peter, his adopted son, to become Gutenberg’s apprentice. Resentful at having to abandon a prestigious career as a scribe, Peter begins his education in the “darkest art.”

As his skill grows, so, too, does his admiration for Gutenberg and his dedication to their daring venture: copies of the Holy Bible. But mechanical difficulties and the crushing power of the Catholic Church threaten their work. As outside forces align against them, Peter finds himself torn between two father figures: the generous Fust, who saved him from poverty after his mother died; and the brilliant, mercurial Gutenberg, who inspires Peter to achieve his own mastery.

Caught between the genius and the merchant, the old ways and the new, Peter and the men he admires must work together to prevail against overwhelming obstacles — a battle that will change history. . and irrevocably transform them.

Twelve-year-old Obi-Wan Kenobi desperately wants to be a Jedi Knight. After years at the Jedi Temple, he knows the power of the lightsaber and the Force. But he cannot control his own anger and fear. Because of this, the Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn will not take him on as a Padawan apprentice.

Now Obi-Wan is about to have his first encounter with true evil. He must face off against unexpected enemies — and face up to his own dark wishes.

Only then can his education as a Jedi truly begin.

For generations, the firstborn children of the rulers of the planet Rutan and the moon Senali have been exchanged at the age of seven. This was meant to promote peace and understanding between the societies. Now it has led them to the brink of war.

Leed, the heir to the Rutan throne, does not want to return to his home planet. His father will stop at nothing to get him back. Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi must prevent this rift from turning to bloodshed.

It is their hardest challenge yet.

Nobody knows her name. Nobody knows when she will strike. All they know is that she is a deadly bounty hunter — and her latest mission has taken her to Coruscant, home of the Jedi.

Her target: an old friend of Qui-Gon Jinn's.

Qui-Gon and his apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi, make an attempt to catch her…and fail. Now they are her targets, too.

An evil scientist is imprisoning and torturing Jedi to find the secret behind the Force. She taps their emotions, monitors their actions…and then drains them of their blood.

Qui-Gon Jinn is now her captive.

Obi-Wan Kenobi is desperately searching for his Master. Meanwhile, Qui-Gon must match wits with one of the most dangerous enemies he has ever encountered.

His survival depends on it.

Murder. Kidnapping. Torture.

Jenna Zan Arbor will stop at nothing in her quest to discover the secrets of the Force — and use them for her own power and greed. One Jedi remains in her dangerous grasp. And a whole planet is being held hostage by her sinister plans.

Only a single team of Jedi stands in her way…

Six years ago, Qui-Gon Jinn and Tahl helped the people of the planet Apsolon choose their first free leader. It seemed that peace had arrived at last.

Now the leader has been killed. His daughters have been kidnapped. And Qui-Gon and Tahl have returned to Apsolon with Qui-Gon's apprentice Obi-Wan — against the wishes of the Jedi Council.

The ties that bind Qui-Gon and Tahl are about to experience their most powerful test yet.

"I pledge myself to you, Tahl."

"I pledge myself to you, Qui-Gon."

With these words, two Jedi Knights acknowledged that their bond had grown beyond friendship and into love.

Now Tahl has been abducted in a trap that Qui-Gon feels he should have foreseen. Consumed by dark visions, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan Kenobi must do everything in their power to get her back before it's too late. But that won't be easy in a land where nobody can be trusted…and everyone has something to hide.

Qui-Gon Jinn is a man on the edge. His heart has been shattered. His beliefs have been destroyed. And now he is dangerously close to stepping over a line that no Jedi dares to cross.

He wants revenge.

His fellow Jedi — his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Jedi Council member Mace Windu — will try to stop him. But when Qui-Gon strikes out on his own, anything can happen. Revenge is not a Jedi trait…but it is a Human one. Can Qui-Gon separate his personal feelings from his Jedi training?

An evil crime family controls the fate of a planet. Only one witness can bring them down — someone from the inside. In order to make it off the planet to testify, she's going to need the protection of the Jedi.

Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi take the assignment, thinking it will be easy. But nothing is ever easy when crime is concerned, and soon the two Jedi are entangled in a violent web of power, corruption, and lies. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan know their allegiance is to the witness. But can she be trusted?

When Obi-Wan Kenobi started off as Qui-Gon Jinn's Jedi apprentice, he was just a boy. Now, on the verge of manhood, he is starting on the path that will lead him to become a Jedi Knight…and the master of his own fate.

As Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon investigate a strange wave of planetary sabotages, they find their relationship shifting — sometimes in a dangerous direction. As events turn deadly, their lives may never be the same again.

Qui-Gon Jinn's past is not at rest. How can he forge a bond with young Obi-Wan Kenobi while he is haunted by the betrayal of his first apprentice—Xanatos? Xanatos was also a promising student—until the dark side of the Force intervened. Qui-Gon thought he was gone forever.

But now Xanatos is back.

And he wants revenge.

After Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn are hijacked to the planet Phindar, they find themselves trapped in a world gone mad. The ruling Syndicat controls the people by erasing their memories. The planet's only hope lies with a band of thieving rebels.

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan are caught in a mind war.

And if they're not careful, their own pasts will be wiped out forever.

A queen is dying. Her angry son is conspiring to thwart his planet's elections and maintain his rule. But he might not be her only heir. There may be another bearing the elusive Mark of the Crown.

Qui-Gon Jinn and young Obi-Wan Kenobi come to the planet of Gala as guardians of peace. Now they are facing a deadly battle for power and royal position.

The true heir must be found.

The Jedi must find the way.

The Defenders of the Dead live in the past while they destroy the future. They face a revolt of the Young — a band of rebels led by two teenagers, Cerasi and Nield.

Thirteen-year-old Obi-Wan Kenobi and his Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn are not supposed to take sides in any war. But once Obi-Wan meets Cerasi and Nield, he feels he must join their fight…even though Qui-Gon forbids it.

The rebellion has become personal.

And Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon are on opposing sides.

Obi-Wan Kenobi is no longer a Jedi. He has chosen instead to be a part of the revolution on the planet Melida/Daan. His Master, Qui-Gon Jinn, has gone back to Coruscant, where trouble is stirring inside the Jedi Temple.

Obi-Wan takes comfort in his friends, the other leaders of the revolution. Together they have power—perhaps too much power. As the revolution continues, friends become enemies, and Obi-Wan's path grows more and more uncertain. Qui-Gon is no longer around to help him.

Obi-Wan is on his own.

The Jedi Temple is under attack. An attempt has been made to kill Yoda. A dangerous intruder has infiltrated the Jedi.

Everybody is under suspicion, and no one is safe from harm. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn must get to the heart of the conspiracy… or watch the Temple be destroyed — from the inside.

Qui-Gon Jinn's evil former apprentice, Xanatos, has set a trap for his old Master. He has lured Qui-Gon and young Obi-Wan Kenobi to his home planet of Telos… and has framed them for a crime they did not commit.

The penalty is death.

Suddenly Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan are fugitives on a planet where everyone is an enemy.

Xanatos' day of reckoning has come.

Most people on the planet Kegan don't want to have anything to do with the rest of the galaxy. But when a young potential Jedi is discovered there, Qui-Gon Jinn, Adi Gallia, and their apprentices, Obi-Wan and Siri, are compelled to visit this strangely isolated world.

They are not welcomed with open arms. Instead, Qui-Gon and Adi find themselves caught in a web of deception while Obi-Wan and Siri are imprisoned in a school where thought is dictated, dissent is forbidden, and detention is permanent.

On this planet, the Jedi must fight for truth…even though nobody wants to face it.

As an apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi is blamed for the death of another Jedi student. With the help of his Master, Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan must fight to clear his name. But even if he is found not guilty, he has gained an enemy for life — the dead boy's vindictive father.

Twelve years later, Obi-Wan is a Jedi Knight, with his own young apprentice, Anakin Skywalker. Anakin doesn't know about the secrets Obi-Wan is hiding. But as the past comes back to attack them, Obi-Wan and Anakin must fight deception with truth — and face off against enemies both new and old.

Who are the followers of the Sith? Devoted to the study of the dark side of the Force, they live an underground existence…but their threat is growing. Although they do not have Sith power, they are on a constant search for it. Nothing — not even the Jedi Knights — will get in their way.

Dr. Lundi is the leader of the Sith followers. As he gets closer to attaining a Sith Holocron, he comes face-to-face with Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan.

Ten years later, when the Sith followers reappear, Obi-Wan and his own apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, must rely on Lundi to help them. But he is to be feared, not trusted.

The Sith are on the rise. The Jedi must stop them.

Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker.

Master and apprentice.

Chosen by fate. Destined for conflict.

Fourteen-year-old Anakin Skywalker is strong in the ways of the Force. His lightsaber skills are exceptional, and his piloting is legendary. He should be an ideal Jedi apprentice. And yet, there is so much he still has to learn.

It is up to Obi-Wan Kenobi to teach him these things. But on a mission to a planet threatened by toxic disaster, Obi-Wan and Anakin are separated. Anakin and three other apprentices — one of them his rival — must work together in order to survive. Anakin's instincts are clear…but are they right?

Anakin Skywalker's destiny will determine the future of a galaxy. These are the events that form his fate.

Interweaving the real and the surreal, Charles Johnson spins eight fantastic tales of transformations and metamorphoses. An Illinois farmer teaches a young slave everything he knows — yielding fatal consequences. A young boy growing to manhood as a country sorcerer’s apprentice learns the difference between power and strength. These stories capture human experiences in a new and startling light.

He may be behind bars, but Warren Hoyt still haunts a helpless city, bequeathing his evil legacy to a student all too diligent – and all too deadly.

A year has passed since the capture of the Surgeon, serial killer Warren Hoyt, yet the memory of his brutal crimes continues to haunt Boston homicide detective Jane Rizzoli. Now she faces a new killer, a hunter who preys on well-to-do couples. For Rizzoli the death scenes have a horrifying air of familiarity, especially when she realizes that this new killer is copying one obscure element from Warren Hoyt's crimes.

A new complication arises as a federal investigator from Washington joins the case. Again and again, Rizzoli clashes with Special Agent Gabriel Dean, who shows up at every crime scene. He knows something about this killer, something so politically explosive that he cannot reveal it to her.

Then Warren Hoyt makes a brilliant and bloody escape from custody. Suddenly there is not one hunter on the loose, but two. And they are united, a pair of blood brothers who share grotesque appetites and a combined genius. They have joined forces to stalk the most challenging prey of all, the very woman who now hunts them…

Set in a stunning world where evil is easy to learn and hard to end, The Apprentice is both a terrifyingly sustained psychological thriller and an adrenalin fuelled-trip to hell that we urge you to sign up for.

First you had THE SURGEON…

Now you've got THE APPRENTICE..

Long retired, Sherlock Holmes quietly pursues his study of honeybee behavior on the Sussex Downs. He never imagines he would encounter anyone whose intellect matched his own, much less an audacious teenage girl with a penchant for detection. Miss Mary Russell becomes Holmes' pupil and quickly hones her talent for deduction, disguises and danger. But when an elusive villain enters the picture, their partnership is put to a real test.

It has been foretold that Jayfeather and Lionblaze will hold the power of the stars in their paws. Now they must wait for a sign from StarClan to tell them which of their Clanmates will complete the prophecy. Soon, a StarClan warrior will visit a new ThunderClan apprentice—and the lives of the three chosen cats will be forever linked.

In the summer of 1143, William of Lythwood arrives at the Benedictine Abbey of St. Peter and St. Paul, but it is not a joyous occasion—he’s come back from his pilgrimage in a coffin. William’s body is accompanied by his young attendant Elave, whose mission is to secure a burial place for his master on the abbey grounds, despite William’s having once been reprimanded for heretical views.

 An already difficult task is complicated when Elave drunkenly expresses his own heretical opinions, and capital charges are filed. When a violent death follows, Sheriff Hugh Beringar taps his friend Brother Cadfael for help. The mystery that unfolds grows deeper thanks to a mysterious and marvelous treasure chest in Elave’s care. 

The day Sacha found out he could see witches was the worst day of his life…

Being an Inquisitor is no job for a nice Jewish boy. But when the police learn that Sacha Kessler can see witches, he’s apprenticed to the department’s star Inquisitor, Maximillian Wolf. Their mission is to stop magical crime. And New York at the beginning of the twentieth century is a magical melting pot where each ethnic group has its own brand of homegrown witchcraft, and magical gangs rule the streets from Hell’s Kitchen to Chinatown. Soon Sacha has teamed up with fellow apprentice Lily Astral, daughter of one of the city’s richest Wall Street Wizards — and a spoiled snob, if you ask Sacha. Their first case is to find out who’s trying to kill Thomas Edison. Edison has invented a mechanical witch detector that could unleash the worst witch-hunt in American history. Every magician in town has a motive to kill him. But as the investigation unfolds, all the clues lead back to the Lower East Side. And Sacha soon realizes that his own family could be accused of murder!

Next in the swashbuckling series featuring mystery-solving Musketeers.

In a search for his apprentice's killer, Musketeer Porthos rallies his friends to discover who was responsible, pursuing the truth even as he puts his own life in danger.

Berren has lived in the city all his life. He has made his way as a thief, paying a little of what he earns to the Fagin like master of their band. But there is a twist to this tale of a thief. One day Berren goes to watch an execution of three thieves. He watches as the thief-taker takes his reward and decides to try and steal the prize. He fails. The young thief is taken. But the thief-taker spots something in Berren. And the boy reminds him of someone as well. Berren becomes his apprentice. And is introduced to a world of shadows, deceit and corruption behind the streets he thought he knew. Full of richly observed life in a teeming fantasy city, a hectic progression of fights, flights and fancies and charting the fall of a boy into the dark world of political plotting and murder this marks the beginning of a new fantasy series for all lovers of fantasy - from fans of Kristin Cashore to Brent Weeks.

Роман написан для взрослых людей человеком, который пытается бесхитростно поведать о муках и метаниях, насмешках и несчастьях, какие могут омрачить сильнейшее из чувств, ведомых человеку; откровенно рассказать о смертельной борьбе между плотью и духом и раскрыть трагедию неосуществленных замыслов.

Это не полностью журнал, а статья из него. С иллюстрациями. Взято с http://7dn.ru/article/karavan и адаптировано для прочтения на е-ридере.

Когда феи покинули этот мир, они забрали с собой свои истории. Но оставили персонажей.

Fandom: Sherlock (TV).

Статья из цикла «Гуру менеджмента», посвященного теоретикам и практикам менеджмента, в котором отражается всемирная история возникновения и развития науки управления.

Многие из тех, о ком рассказывают данные статьи, сами или вместе со своими коллегами стояли у истоков науки управления, другие развивали идеи своих В предшественников не только как экономику управления предприятием, но и как психологию управления человеческими ресурсами. В любом случае без работ этих ученых невозможно представить современный менеджмент.

В статьях акцентируется внимание на основных достижениях «Гуру менеджмента», с описанием наиболее значимых моментов и возможного применения его на современном этапе. В каждой статье содержится их биографическая справка.