Лучшие книги Кевина Кроссли-Холланда

Перед вами первая часть увлекательной трилогии, охватывающей весь цикл сказаний о короле Артуре, легендарном правителе Древней Англии. 1199 год. На границе Англии и Уэльса живет Артур, 13-летний сын рыцаря. Однажды друг его отца, Мерлин, дает мальчику таинственный черный камень, и Артур начинает видеть в камне истории из жизни своего великого тезки - короля Артура, основателя ордена Круглого Стола... Так начинается первая книга знаменитой трилогии о короле Артуре, рыцарях Камелота и легендарном ордене Круглого Стола.

Перед вами вторая часть увлекательной трилогии - продолжение романа "Король Артур и зрячий камень",- охватывающей весь цикл сказаний о короле Артуре, легендарном правителе Древней Англии.

Однажды утром Сольвейг просыпается и обнаруживает, что Хальфдан, ее отец, пропал. Хальфдан — наемник из викингов. Он стремится отправиться вслед за своим другом Харальдом Хардрадой в Миклагард (Константинополь), где тот служит предводителем императорской дружины. Но, не взяв с собой дочь, Хальфдан нарушил обещание, которое дал ей. Сольвейг решает последовать за ним. В крошечной лодочке пускается она в путь, полный множества приключений и испытаний. Ей предстоит встретить корабль-призрак и рабыню из Англии, очаровательного вора и короля русов. Сольвейг поборется с бурными речными потоками, попадет в засаду, устроенную стрелками, станет…

Тысячи рыцарей и простых солдат собираются в Венеции, дабы выступить в Четвертый крестовый поход. Среди них и юный Артур де Колдикот, которому только предстоит пройти посвящение в рыцари. Однако очень скоро Крестовый поход оборачивается совсем не тем, чего ждал от него мальчик… Так начинается заключительная часть увлекательной трилогии — продолжение романов «Король Артур и Зрячий камень» и «Король Артур и золотое кольцо», — охватывающей весь цикл сказаний о короле Артуре, легендарном правителе Древней Англии.

Long-recognized master of Norse mythology Kevin Crossley-Holland pairs with award-winning artist Jeffrey Alan Love for an exceptional look at the Viking gods.

A collaboration by two talented creators provides the perfect means to delve into Norse mythology and pore over the enthralling exploits of all-powerful Odin; mighty Thor and his hammer, Mjolnir; and Loki, the infamous trickster. From the creation of the nine worlds to the final battle of Ragnarok, Carnegie Medal winner Kevin Crossley-Holland details the Viking gods as never before, while Jeffrey Alan Love's lavish illustrations bring the mythic figures to life on the page. Readers will be caught up in the seesawing struggle for power between gods, dwarfs, and giants, punctuated by surprising love matches, thrilling journeys, and dazzling magic. With its well-researched, lyrical prose and its dramatic and powerful artwork, this wonderful gift edition makes the perfect book for both the staunchest fans of mythology and newcomers with no knowledge of Viking folklore.

The extraordinary Scandinavian myth cycle is one of the most enduring, exciting, dramatic and compelling of the world's great stories. A series of intertwined tales which together form a strange and fantastical world teeming with gods and goddesses, heroes and monsters, battles and couplings, the Norse myths are as exciting to read as they are of vast cultural and historical importance.

Taking us from the creation of the world through the building of Asgard's Wall to the final end in Ragnarok, and featuring the exploits and adventures of such mythical figures as Odin, Thor and Loki, The Penguin Book of Norse Myths brings alive the passion, cruelty and heroism of these unforgettable stories.

Annie lives with her elderly parents in a remote cottage. She is used to being alone. Every day she walks by the lonely marsh to school. Only in winter, when the wind howls in the trees, is Annie ever afraid. Her sister Willa is pregnant and Annie is overjoyed when she comes home to have her baby. Annie tells Willa the names of local plants and Willa tells Annie about the ghost, murdered by highwaymen, who is said to haunt the old forge nearby. Then, on a terrible night, with the phone lines down, Willa goes into labor. Annie is terrified of the ghost, but knows she must brave the storm to fetch help. As she ventures into the night, a horseman swings into view. He offers to take Annie to town. Before she can protest, Annie finds herself lifted on to his saddle and off they set on an intense, dream-like journey. Only once he has deposited her safely on the doctor's doorstep, does the horseman reveal that he is the ghost she fears.

Solveig has made it all the way from Norway to the glittering city of Constantinople, where her father is a member of the guard of Empress Zoe. Soon Solveig finds herself caught up in the conflict between the Viking guard and the Islamic people of nearby Sicily. In this world of competing religious beliefs, brutal violence and ruthless mercenaries, Solveig must face some terrible truths about her father and her fellow Vikings, and decide what she considers worth fighting for.

In the village of Waterslain in Norfolk, in the 1950s, a fragment from a carved angel's wing is discovered. Maybe the wooden angels that once supported the church roof were not, after all, destroyed centuries ago, but spirited away to safety. Two children decide to find them.

In the year 1203, nine pilgrims set out on a pilgrimage. The journey - on foot, on horseback and by sea - is fraught with danger. Not all of them will come safely home. Among them is Gatty, whose whole life has been spent working in the fields. Bright, eager and resolute, she is at the heart of a huge, ambitious novel that sweeps across Europe to Jerusalem. All the pilgrims endure aches and pains, homesickness and terrible loss; they are prey to thieves and murdererers; but it is Gatty, whose impulsiveness lands her in desperate trouble, who is transformed by the experience. With knuckle-biting drama, tremendous emotional highs and lows, and unforgettable characters, Kevin Crossley-Holland paints a wonderfully vivid picture of the world of the Middle Ages that answers the question so many readers have asked, of what happens to Gatty.

The Norse myths are second only to the Greek myths in their greatness and power, and and these stories of giants striding across the Nordic landscape, of stallions pulling the sun's chariot, of the trickster Loki's shapeshifting, of the slaying of monsters and the passions, squabbles and betrayals of gods and goddesses, are magnificent to read. They are selected and slightly adapted from 'The Penguin Book of Norse Myths', Kevin Crossley-Holland's definitive collection of retellings.