Showing results by author "Richard Parks" in All Categories

In an ancient Japan where the incursions of gods, ghosts, and demons into the living world is an everyday event, an impoverished nobleman named Yamada no Goji makes his living as a demon hunter for hire. With the occasional assistance of the reprobate exorcist Kenji, whatever the difficulty - ogres, demons, fox-spirits - for a price Yamada will do what needs to be done, even and especially if the solution to the problem isn’t as simple as the edge of a sword.

Lord Yamada is called away - one last time - from his newly restored estates in Kamakura to help Prince Kanemore ensure that Princess Teiko's son, Takahito, inherits the Chrysanthemum Throne. Unfortunately, assuming the throne proves to be the easy part. Yamada must then help Takahito renounce that throne in such a way as to hobble the power of the Fujiwara clan forever!

Yamada no Goji is a minor nobleman of ancient Japan who has lost everything - except a single purpose: keep a promise to the woman he loved. In order to fulfill his vow, all he has to do is fight a horde of demons and monsters, bargain with a few ghosts, outwit the sinister schemers of the emperor's court, find a way to defeat an assassin who cannot be seen, heard, or touched - and change the course of history.

A New Yorker Best Book of the Year “‘American history did not begin in the Northeast. It began in the Southwest,’ Parker asserts, in this sweeping history.” —The New Yorker A revelatory history that recenters the American story two-thousand miles west of Plymouth Rock, in El Paso...

How often do you hear inner voices saying you’re not good enough, not tough enough, not fit enough? How much time do you spend dwelling on regret, shame, and things you wish you could do over? Research shows that when we truly accept ourselves, it changes everything. We become less reactive and more resilient. Our physical health improves. We are capable of deeper and more satisfying relationships. In The Self-Acceptance Summit: Volume One, you’ll find a collection of insights, encouraging voices, and on-the-spot tools to help you transform your relationship with yourself.

The Abe clan and its allies are in full rebellion. When the Emperor's greatest military leader, Yoshii, is targeted for assassination by magic, it is up to the newly sober Lord Yamada and his exorcist associate Kenji to keep the young man alive long enough to put down the uprising before the entire country is consumed by war. Yamada knows how to deal with demons, monsters, and angry ghosts, but the greatest threat of all is one final assassin, hidden most secretly of all.

Popular FOX commentator Star Parker explains why today's noisy political rhetoric is good for you and provides specifics on why Trump's presidency is vital for America's future. Star Parker was among the many reeling and confused as Donald Trump became the 45th president of the United States...

Africa has been known as "the cradle of mankind", and its recoverable history stretches back to the Pharaohs. But the idea of studying African history is itself new, and the authors show why it is still contested and controversial. This VSI, the first concise work of its kind, will prove essential for anyone interested in the African continent and the diversity of human history.

“You call that an ending?” - The author, upon seeing Monty Python and the Holy Grail for the first time. Seventeen-years-old when I saw it, what always stuck with me was how disappointed I was at the ending of the film. Of course, having seen it countless times over the 30 years since, I’ve learned to appreciate its finer aspects. And I now think the conclusion actually provides us with a bonus that–like the Spanish Inquisition–we may not have been expecting. I could call this a carryover from the lesson of Roger the Shrubber, but I’ll just get on with it. All too often, many ...

Richard Parker delivers a provocative and eye-opening look at the most explosive and controversial state in America, where everything is bigger, bolder - and is shaping the future of America. Americans today are reckoning with a new Texas - that love-it-or-hate-it giant slice of America that has sparked controversy, bred presidents, and fomented change from the Civil War to the election of George W. Bush and the Iraq War.

A Pooka, a Banshee, and a Nightmare walk into a bar… …if only it was a joke, but no, they’re on a mission. Nudd is a trickster tired of playing pranks on humans. That all changes when Aednat the Banshee shows up with a bloody shirt. Yes, a human is going to die. Against his better judgment, Aednat persuades Nudd to play one last trick. One trick too many. Now Nudd and Aednat and a Nightmare named Mera are summoned by the Queen and given a simple but impossible task—lift the curse that binds the fae to their roles in relation to the human world. In short, give the fae a destiny of ...

While traveling to Reno through the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, The Four Wizards, a talented but unheralded cover band, encounters a thick and unusual fog. Unable to see or stop their RV, the group careens off the interstate and down a mountainside. Their vehicle plows straight into an unfortunate and strange battle, running over and killing numerous people that they mistakenly take to be cast members on a movie set. Annora St. Clair and the rest of her band soon discover that this is no movie set and that their intrusion will have real-life and death consequences. Captured, bound, and ...

For seventeen years Gwaynn and Samantha have ruled peacefully over the lands of the Inland Sea as High King and Queen. All is well. The twins, Arnot and Avigail are nearly finished with their education on the Temple Islands. Over the years they have become Travelers, Scholars and rudimentary healers. Now they are ready for their final test, the test of Noble Island, where they will be under the tutelage of Tarina Vio Valencia. Under the care of the famed Tarina, the twins will hone their fighting skills and be introduced to the subtle secrets of the Solitaries. From Vio, they will discover ...

Embark on a journey into the shadows with Jin, a young legal aide who unwittingly stumbles into a mysterious alley—one she should have avoided. In a seemingly mundane town where nothing extraordinary happens, Jin discovers her extraordinary destiny as the Goddess of Mercy. Little did she know, the divine responsibility comes with a backlog of cosmic paperwork and a crash course in distinguishing between mercy and kindness. As Jin grapples with her newfound role, meet her eclectic team of assistants: Ling, an ancient dragon princess cloaked in the guise of a snarky teenage girl, and Shan ...

Delight in intriguing, thought-provoking conversations about ethics, philosophy, and social issues! After Dinner Conversation is a monthly literary magazine publishing short fiction. Each issue features both established writers and up-and-coming authors who contribute fascinating philosophical insights on controversial topics like marriage equality, assisted suicide, the meaning of death, animal rights and defining your "purpose." It's time to go deep in search of truth! If you love reading imaginative short stories on hot topics that make your brain think deeply but also have you laughing ...

Your worst nightmare just went viral…After being involved in a severe car accident and a vicious roadside assault, Beth Jordan wakes briefly to discover a coach party of students recording the aftermath with their phones. Beth furiously attacks the crowd before being restrained and lapsing into a coma. When she wakes in hospital, Beth is horrified when she’s told the video clips have been shared online and that millions of people around the world have now seen the incident.

When an online prank goes viral and triggers a spate of gruesome murders, documentary maker Hazel Salter watches in horror. But then Hazel's childhood friend, Meredith Hickman, is the next victim, Hazel knows she has to find out what happened to her. Is it one killer or more? Random acts of violence or part of a bigger plan? The police have no leads, but Hazel has a theory - one she'll stop at nothing to prove - and she also has a film crew. She'll make a documentary, catch the killer, and give Meredith justice.

Inspired by Ken Iverson’s paper “Notation as a Tool of Thought”, this podcast explores various aspects of notation, in the context of the APL programming language.

More than a year after the attack in Benghazi, nothing is resolved. There are still many questions as to what the U.S. government knew prior to the attacks, why it didn't respond to calls for more security and why it continued to claim the attack was the result of an anti-Muslim video when it was clear it was a planned terrorist attack.

When did you last Google yourself? Wealthy businessman, Will Frost, gets woken in the middle of the night by an anonymous caller, asking him exactly this. When Will goes online, he finds a website has been set up in his name, showing photographs of the inside of his home, along with photographs of six houses he has never seen before. In the first of these strange houses, a gruesome murder has already taken place. Will is then told that his own family is in mortal danger.