Kirjahaku

This latest edition of Schlock Quarterly is a tribute to the late Gregory KH Bryant, who passed away in May of this year.

Recalled to Rome by his Chief, imperial agent Gaius Flaminius Drusus meets with a mystery. The Commissary has changed. Probus has vanished. And Flaminius is denounced as an impostor by the man who has replaced him. What has happened to the Commissary? What has happened to Probus? Why was Flaminius recalled? A series of documents provide clues about the whereabouts of the lost treasure of the Dacian kings, and the identity of the thief, but what does this have to do with Flaminius' own fugitive status? His search for answers will take him from secret vaults beneath the imperial palace to the slave tunnels of Hadrian's villa, from the scented gardens of Italy to the rolling moorlands of the Caledonian wilds. Flaminius will need all his wits about him as he seeks to uncover a conspiracy against the emperor that now threatens his own life. Part Eight in ON HADRIAN'S SECRET SERVICE

No overgrown devilfish gets between Long John Silver and his booty John Silver has retired to a pirate paradise in Madagascar, renouncing his adventurous life on the high seas. The appearance of a ship from England changes his plans. Lady Arabella Smythe is searching for her missing husband, last heard of in the Indian Ocean, seeking the lost continent of Lemuria. The only clue to Lord Smythe's current location is the name of a man he previously encountered-Long John Silver Silver only agrees to guide her ladyship when he learns of the priceless treasure in the temple of the Lemurian squid god. Can Lady Arabella trust this rascally old seafaring man? What horrors will they encounter on the lost isle? And what is the destiny of the mysterious savage who accompanies them, the man the pirates call Tattoo?

CONQUISTADORS AT THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH 'So what did happen to this treasure' 'The Indians say that they first came to the city of Mexico from a place far to the north, in the desert, ' the friar said. 'Chicomoztoc it's called, the Place of the Seven Caves. They climbed up from a land beneath the ground and migrated by stages to the Valley of Mexico. The priest who Do a Isabella's father spoke to said that, before the final destruction of Tenochtitlan, seven temple priests took the treasure into the deserts of the north and concealed it deep within Chicomoztoc, in Tollan, the chief of their ancestors' subterranean cities.' 'My father searched the desert for the entrance to the caves, ' Do a Isabella added, 'but he never found them. It was his fruitless searching that bankrupted our family. He returned to Spain an impoverished man and soon our fortunes foundered. Now that we are destitute, my brother has taken up this foolish quest in his turn. We will wander the sands of the desert fruitlessly, until our bones bleach white in the sun '

Managing the beast-fights at the Colosseum was never going to be an easy job, but this time MARCUS had really made his Emperor angry. To make up for his latest blunder, he would have to hunt down the fabled crocodilopard - half leopard half crocodile - and bring it back to exhibit in Rome.Accompanied by DIDIUS SENECA, a scholarly but scatter-brained senator, and BRUTUS, a bullying, blustering centurion, Marcus must journey to the headwaters of the Nile in search of his quarry, said to be found only in a lost jungle valley infested with giant saurians.It seems impossible. He doesn't even know if the creature truly exists. But the Emperor holds his wife and son hostage, and he will have them executed if Marcus doesn't succeed... "GLADIATOR meets THE VALLEY OF GWANGI..." David Christopher, former editor of Schlock Webzine (www.schlock.co.uk)

Imperial agent Gaius Flaminius Drusus is working undercover as a tribune in the Praetorian Guard. His remit is to investigate the death of Rufinus Crassus, the senator who died mysteriously after his assassination attempt on the emperor Hadrian. Commissary Centurion Probus thinks the senator was murdered by his fellow conspirators to keep him silent. Identifying the murderer takes them only a short time, but the investigation becomes more complicated when the murderer is poisoned, and Flaminius finds himself under suspicion. The empress gives him five days in which to identify the poisoner. Can Flaminius identify the poisoner? And at the same time root out the conspirators before they can make a fresh bid for power? Or will he be tried and executed for murder? The sequel to "ON HADRIAN'S SECRET SERVICE."

Given the task of escorting an emissary from the Emperor Charlemagne, Sinbad is dismayed when his dhow is attacked by Northmen-savage pagan pirates who sail the northern seas, slaughtering and pillaging. But these warriors, and their queen, Helga Hammerhand, have a different mission-one for which they require Sinbad's services, willing or otherwise. As a prisoner, Sinbad joins them on a voyage into the frozen north, far beyond their own country of Frostheim, in a desperate search for the land at the back of the north wind. Through seas of monsters they sail, but once the channel of the sea serpents is passed, what horrors will they find in the lands beyond? And will Sinbad ever escape? Or is this his final voyage?

Blessed by Odin, cursed by Thor, Starkad was doomed to wander the world for three lifespans, committing a villainous act in each. Hated by the people, loved by murderers and tyrants, he sought only peace, but his destiny was endless war...STARKAD AND THE THUNDER GOD In the morning of the world was the Age of the Giants, savage and primal. And one of the most renowned of that race was Starkad Aludreng, slayer of heroes, ravisher of women, warrior and plunderer. But southward in Asgard dwelt his people's enemies. Will Starkad meet his match when he clashes with the Thunder God? What of the prophecy of the spaewife? Is this the end, or is it only the beginning of the Saga of Starkad the Old? STARKAD THE REBEL In a divided land where Viking warlords struggle for supremacy amid the fells and fjords, a traumatised youth grows to manhood, haunted by dreams of another life... His parents murdered when he was a baby, his foster father Harald Agder-king killed by Herthjof of Hordaland, Starkad spends much of his youth lounging by the fireside in the house of the enigmatic Grani Horsehair. But when his foster brother Vikar Haraldsson visits his home, Starkad awakes from his slumber to put his first foot on the path of ambition. Vikar is his companion, vengeance his intention. Yet they are two boys against an empire. How can they ever dream of success? STARKAD THE TRAITOR Fighting for his king, Starkad battles enemy after enemy, loyal to the last. With his aid, the empire of Vikar grows and grows, until it seems the king will rule all the kingdoms of the North Way. But Starkad is sorely tried when he must choose between loyalty to his liege and vengeance upon the killers of his kin. Sailing north, the ships of Vikar meet contrary winds. When the runes are cast, the will of the gods is made clear. Starkad's choice will shape his weird for the rest of his life.

A historical spy thriller set against the savage backdrop of Viking Age Scandinavia. Nine years after King Harald Finehair's decisive victory over viking rebels, a king's man has been murdered in Rogaland. Gest, an agent of the king's spies known as the Gestasveit, is despatched to identify the killers and bring them to justice. But in his attempts to solve the mystery, he uncovers evidence of a far more serious crime: a plot against the king himself. Racing against time, Gest must struggle to uncover the truth in a murky Viking Age world of spies and traitors. And he soon learns that the kingdom itself is at stake...

'The lands beyond Iceland are eldritch and dreadful, and yet rich beyond belief.'I myself have been in those northern waters, and I have spoken with other men, Icelanders most of them, who have sailed beyond the seas we know. Some spoke of dragons, some spoke of trolls, some spoke of stranger things. Some spoke also of the riches that are to be found in those lands...'Thorkill the Icelander comes to regret his bragging words to Gorm, Viking king of the Danes. Soon they are sailing for the dangerous lands of Jotunheim, where trolls and monsters lurk...Few will ever return. Will Thorkill?And if he does, what horrors yet await him?

Blessed by Odin, cursed by Thor, Starkad was doomed to wander the world for three lifespans, committing a villainous act in each. Hated by the people, loved by murderers and tyrants, he sought only peace, but his destiny was endless war... The legendary viking warrior battles his way through three more savage adventures in the lands of Norse mythology: STARKAD AT THE BRAVIC WAR Peace lies over the Northlands. Their overlord is the ageing king, Harald Wartooth, who united the lands in his youth and has lived into old age. Starkad is just one of many warriors who bend the knee in fealty to the old king. But peace is not the way of the Viking, nor is it the way of Odin, king of the gods. Soon war will shake the Northern lands, and during the Battle of Bravalla many warriors will cross the Rainbow Bridge and sit at Odin's right hand. STARKAD AND THE DRAGONSLAYER Beleaguered on all sides, King Hring fears for his kingdom. He resolves strike a blow that will resound throughout the Northlands and deter further raiders, and yet he must also defend his borders against the marauding Easterlings. On the horns of a dilemma, he sends Starkad south to issue a challenge to the ruler of Burgundy, most far-famed of the kings of the Southlands: pay tribute or fight. The Burgundians choose war. Yet in the coming fight, will Starkad at last meet his match? STARKAD THE ACCURSED Starkad's three lifespans are near the end. Time for one last niddering deed--the murder of his own liege lord Can Starkad hope to fulfil his deadly mission and escape vengeance? Or does Valhalla await this grizzled old warrior?

Seconded to the Twenty Second Legion in Egypt, Gaius Flaminius Drusus finds himself plunged into a murky world of religious cults and ethnic hatreds. Investigating the murder of his predecessor, Flaminius is hindered at every turn, despite the assistance of the Egyptian scribe and reformed tomb robber, Ozymandias. Weakened by fever, he is given only a day and a half to solve the murder by the legate, who requires his services fighting desert raiders. Desperate to close the case, he infiltrates the horrific rites of an underground cult only to find himself accused of murder. The latest instalment in the ON HADRIAN'S SECRET SERVICE series...