Part high-octane suspense, part dire warning, The Eagle and the Viper from multiple-winning novelist Loren D. Estleman reveals how close our world came—at the dawn of a promising new century—to total war. It’s a time of improvised explosive devices, terrorist training camps, international assassins, and war on civilians. It’s Christmas Eve, 1800. This much is history: On Christmas Eve, 1800, an “infernal machine” exploded in one of the busiest streets in Paris, France, destroying buildings and killing innocent civilians. It wasn’t the first attempt on the life of Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the newly minted Republic of France. This much is exclusive to our story: Upon the failure of the Christmas Eve plot, the conspiracy takes a new and more diabolical turn. Posterity knows what became of Napoleon: He led France into a series of military adventures that ended in his defeat, followed by decades of peace. But this future hung on a precarious thread. One man can make history; another can change it. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

A man and his wife find a teenager laying face down in the street. The boy grows up to be a great swords man, though he prefers his pistol to the sword, he carries the sword everywhere. When a young man starts taunting him about being in the fifth grade, it ends with them fighting. Hart looses the sight in one eye. This starts the hate that lives in Hart the rest of his days. Join him as he faces giving up his daughter and the dangers of living a lawless life.

WAR DRUMS OF EAGLE KING, is a story of Koch warrior Sukladhvaj, brother of Nar Narayan ruler of the Koch Kingdom during the 16th century. He was Commander-in-Chief of the Koch army and under his leadership the Koch troops achieved devastating victories over the Ahoms, the Kacharies, the Twipra and others as a result of the brilliant strategy and swift hitting tactics used by Sukladhvaj. His deadly tactics and swift victories over his opponents earn him the nickname of Chilarai which means eagle king and his success is partly attributed to the mysterious power of an eagle that he is said to be capable of invoking on rare occasions. During his campaigns Chilarai meets Sankardev, a great religious and cultural reformer and the experience has such an effect on Chilarai that a subtle change takes place in his perception of life and society. He also meets and later on weds the lovely and devoted Kamala. The eagle king is snared during his expedition to Gauda, in a trap laid by the clever Kalapahar, a General of Gauda and then held as a prisoner in the city of Gaur. However, Chilarai charms his way into a position of favor with Sultan Suleiman and his family and as a result he is finally released from captivity. Soon after his release the war drums start rolling out their ominous beat once again.

The second in a gripping trilogy from R.A. Salvatore’s War of the Spider Queen author Lisa Smedman. Viper’s Kiss is the second title in a new trilogy exploring the political intrigues of the yuan-ti race, the details of which have been little explored in previous Forgotten Realms products. Lisa Smedman will pen the entire trilogy, which will affect many other storylines in the Forgotten Realms setting. AUTHOR BIO: Formerly a magazine editor, Lisa Smedman splits her week between working as a reporter/editor at a weekly newspaper and writing fiction. She is a frequent contributor to various science fiction and fantasy magazines, and her most recent credits include authoring Extinction: R.A. Salvatore’s War of the Spider Queen, Book IV, Heirs of Prophecy, and Venom’s Taste, and contributing a short story to The Halls of Stormweather. From the Paperback edition.