THE BOOK OF LOST TALES, I, stands at the beginning of the entire conception of Middle-earth and Valinor. Here is the whole, glorious history of Middle-earth that J.R.R. Tolkien brought to mythic and dramatic life with his classic fantasy novels of the Ring Cycle.

When an old Gypsy man curses Billy Halleck for sideswiping his daughter, six weeks later he's 93 pounds lighter. Now Billy is terrified. And desperate enough for one last gamble...that will lead him to a nightmare showdown with the forces of evil melting his flesh away.

Paradise Lost, by John Milton, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics:New introductions commissioned from today's top writers and scholars Biographies of the authors Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events Footnotes and endnotes Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work Comments by other famous authors Study questions to challenge the reader's viewpoints and expectations Bibliographies for further reading Indices & Glossaries, when appropriateAll editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. Barnes & Noble Classics pulls together a constellation of influences—biographical, historical, and literary—to enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works.  

As a young student, John Milton fantasized about bringing the poetic elocution of Homer and Virgil to the English language. Milton realized this dream with his graceful, sonorous Paradise Lost, now considered the most influential epic poem in English literature.

 

A retelling of the biblical story of mankind’s fall from grace, Milton’s epic opens shortly after the dramatic expulsion of Satan and his army of angels from Heaven. What follows is a cosmic battle between good and evil that ranges across vast, splendid tracts of time and space, from the wild abyss of Chaos and the fiery lake of Hell to the Gate of Heaven and God’s newly created paradise, the Garden of Eden. Controversy still swirls around Milton’s magnificent and sympathetic characterization of Satan, a portrait so compelling that many critics have maintained that he is the true hero of the story.   David Hawkes is Associate Professor of English at Lehigh University. His books include Idols of the Marketplace (2001) and Ideology (second edition, 2003), and he has contributed articles to The Nation, the Times Literary Supplement, and the Journal of the History of Ideas.

The Women's Murder Club pits four San Francisco women professionalsagainst a serial killer who's stalking and murdering newlyweds in bestsellingauthor James Patterson's newest thriller. Lindsay Boxer is a homicide inspectorwho's just gotten some very bad news. She deals with it by immersing herself inher newest case and soliciting the personal as well as professional support ofher closest friend, who happens to be the city's medical examiner. The twowomen, along with an ambitious and sympathetic reporter and an assistant DA,form an unlikely alliance, pooling their information and bypassing the chain ofcommand in an engaging, suspenseful story whose gruesome setup is vintagePatterson. "What is the worst thing anyone has ever done?" the killer muses to himselfearly in the narrative. "Am I capable of doing it? Do I have what it takes?"Answering his own question, he embarks on a murderous spree that takes him fromthe bridal suite in a Nob Hill hotel to a honeymoon destination in the NapaValley and thence to a wedding reception at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame andMuseum in Cleveland, Ohio. Dispatching his victims on the happiest day of theirlives, he purposefully leaves enough clues for his distaff trackers to discoverhis identity and put him behind bars. But just when the women think they've gotthe case all wrapped up, the killer turns the tables on them in a bloodydenouement that even the most discerning reader won't see coming. Patterson,author of the popular Alex Cross mysteries, promises future adventures for theWomen's Murder Club, which may give him an opportunity to develop his heroines'characters more completely and win new fans among those who prefer theirdetectives in high heels and lipstick. —Jane Adams

This much-anticipated follow-up to the blockbuster original edition (00690471, ISBN 0-634-02611-9) features note-for-note tab transcriptions for 150 more great songs, including: About a Girl * All Right Now * Are You Gonna Go My Way * Barracuda * Boot Scootin' Boogie * Cat Scratch Fever * Chop Suey! * Crazy Train * Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me) * Every Breath You Take * Everyday (I Have the Blues) * Faith * Fire and Rain * The Freshmen * Hanging by a Moment * Hide Away * I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow * I Shot the Sheriff * Iris * La Bamba * Louie, Louie * Money for Nothing * Pride and Joy * Refugee * Rock You like a Hurricane * Semi-Charmed Life * Smells like Teen Spirit * Smooth * Tequila * Under the Bridge * We Will Rock You * Welcome to the Jungle * Wonderful Tonight * Your Mama Don't Dance * and more!

This is the story of Rose Daniels, "the most richly portrayed female King's ever created."* Escaping from her macabre marriage is not as easy as fleeing to a new city, picking a new name, finding a new job, and lucking out with a new man. Not with a husband like Norman...

A body is found in the attic of a fabulous Long Island estate. There is a hoofprint scorched into the floor, and the stench of sulfur chokes the air. When FBI Special Agent Pendergast investigates the gruesome crime, he discovers that thirty years ago four men conjured something unspeakable. Has the devil come to claim his due?

There seems to be an unspoken rule among mystery writers that once the author has created a successful character, the obligation to fans demands regular installments in the hero's life history, whatever the author's literary aspirations. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was famously unsuccessful at killing off Sherlock Holmes and resurrected his detective in response to public outcry. Michael Connelly's police procedural series featuring Harry Bosch has garnered numerous top mystery awards, including the coveted Edgar. But, strangely, it is his deviations from Bosch, including The Poet and Blood Work, that have drawn the biggest readerships—and have won awards of their own to boot (The Poet was honored with the 1997 Anthony Award). Now, once again, Connelly follows up the success of a Bosch book, Angels Flight, with a non-series tale that pushes Connelly's already impressive body of work into new territory.Void Moon traces the path of Cassie Black, a gifted thief who struggles with the temptation of "outlaw juice" (the burning desire to live the fast life of crime and payoffs) even while she regularly attends her probation meetings. It's not that hawking Porsches to newly flush young Hollywood males isn't satisfying, but... well, it isn't. After years away, she returns to her old striking grounds in Las Vegas for one last big mark hoping to pave her way into a new life. But Cassie discovers that her old Las Vegas is a new town with a new skyline and new (and more deadly) bad guys; it is also a place haunted by the ghost of her lover-partner Max. When her take proves to be 10 times larger than she imagined, her road to freedom runs afoul of the Mob while a morally questionable—and openly vicious—PI sniffs her trail.With its attractive central character, meticulous plot, and glitzy packaging, Void Moon seems perfectly poised for the New York Times bestsellers list. That is not to say, however, that Connelly has "dumbed down" his usual presentation. The novel displays Connelly's stunning ability to breathe reality into his fiction with the subtle details that can only come from careful research and his years of experience reporting on crime for the L.A. Times. What other author has so lovingly described the aftermath of crime? The jail sentence, recidivism, thenumbing visits to the parole officer where "she held the plastic cup she would have to squat over and fill while an office trainee, dubbed the wizard because of the nature of her monitoring duty, watched to make sure it was her own urine going into the container." While we Connelly fans are always eager to read the next Bosch, once again we're not disappointed with Connelly's "vacation." —Patrick O'Kelley

Linda Lael Miller delivers "heart-stopping suspense" (Winter Haven News, FL) in her New York Times bestsellers featuring savvy defense attorney Clare Westbrook and sexy homicide detective Tony Sonterra.

A hungry attraction. A hidden enemy.

A multimillion-dollar inheritance from the father she never knew has allowed Clare Westbrook to turn a storefront in a tough Phoenix neighborhood into the legal firm of her dreams. But when explosive shots take out her street-level windows — and nearly take her life — Clare must surrender to Tony Sonterra's protection if she wants to survive.... Sonterra has designs on a career move to the FBI — and on rekindling his scorching, no-strings-attached affair with Clare. But can the man who sparks her passion be trusted with her life? Or is someone using Clare, the one person Tony has dared to get close to, to get to him?

Hidden from mortal eyes are the angels and demons that coexist with mankind...supernatural beings who seek to influence our lives for better and for worse. Amoral and irreverent renegade occultist and paranormal detective John Constantine is blessed and cursed with the ability to interact with this secret world. When Constantine teams up with skeptical L.A. policewoman Angela Dodson to solve the mysterious suicide of her twin sister, their investigation catapults them into a catastrophic series of otherworldly events — even as the forces of Hell conspire against Constantine to claim his immortal soul....