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Thomas Covenant
''The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant'' is a series of ten high fantasy novels written by American author Stephen R. Donaldson. The series began as a trilogy, entitled ''The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever''. This was followed by another trilogy, ''The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant'', and finally a tetralogy, ''The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant''. The main character of the stories is Thomas Covenant, an embittered and cynical writer, afflicted with leprosy and shunned by society but fated to become the heroic savior of the Land, an alternate world. In ten novels, published between 1977 and 2013, he struggles against Lord Foul, "the Despiser", who intends to escape the bondage of the physical universe and wreak revenge upon his arch-enemy, "the Creator". ''The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever'' # ''Lord Foul's Bane'' (1977) # '' The Illearth War'' (1978; ''Gilden-Fire''—first published 1981) # '' The Power that Preserves'' (1979) The stor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lord Foul's Bane
''Lord Foul's Bane'' is a 1977 fantasy novel by American writer Stephen R. Donaldson, the first book of the first trilogy of ''The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant'' series. It is followed by ''The Illearth War''. __TOC__ Plot summary Thomas Covenant is a young author whose world is turned upside-down when he is diagnosed with leprosy. After six months' treatment, he returns home to find himself divorced by his wife Joan and outcast from his community. On a rare trip into town, he is accosted by a beggar. Disturbed by the encounter, Covenant stumbles into the path of an oncoming police car and is rendered unconscious. He wakes to find himself in "the Land", a classic fantasy world, where he meets the evil Cavewight Drool Rockworm and Lord Foul the Despiser. Foul prophesies that he will destroy the Land within 49 years; however, if Drool is not stopped, this doom will come to pass much sooner. He tells Covenant to deliver this information to the rulers of the Land, the Lords who ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
E-book
An ebook (short for electronic book), also spelled as e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in electronic form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Although sometimes defined as "an electronic version of a printed book", some e-books exist without a printed equivalent. E-books can be read on dedicated e-reader devices, also on any computer device that features a controllable viewing screen, including desktop computers, laptops, tablet computer, tablets and smartphones. In the 2000s, there was a trend of print and e-book sales moving to the Internet, where readers buy traditional paper books and e-books on websites using e-commerce systems. With print books, readers are increasingly browsing through images of the covers of books on publisher or bookstore websites and selecting and ordering titles online. The paper books are then delivered to the reader by mail or any other delivery servi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Pringle
David Pringle (born 1 March 1950) is a Scottish science fiction editor and critic. Pringle served as the editor of '' Foundation'', an academic journal, from 1980 to 1986, during which time he became one of the prime movers of the collective which founded '' Interzone'' in 1982. By 1988, he was the sole publisher and editor of ''Interzone'', a position he retained until he sold the magazine to Andy Cox in 2004. For years, from 1991 to 1993, he also edited and published a magazine entitled ''Million: The Magazine About Popular Fiction''. ''Interzone'' was nominated several times for the Hugo Award for best semiprozine, winning in 1995. In 2005, the Worldcon committee gave Pringle a Special Award for his work on ''Interzone''. Pringle is a scholar of J. G. Ballard. He wrote the first short monograph on Ballard, ''Earth is the Alien Planet: J. G. Ballard's Four-Dimensional Nightmare'' (Borgo Press, 1979) and compiled ''J. G. Ballard: A Primary and Secondary Bibliography'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Turiya
In Hindu philosophy, ''turiya'' (Sanskrit: तुरीय, meaning "the fourth"), also referred to as chaturiya or chaturtha, is the true self (''atman'') beyond the three common states of consciousness (waking, dreaming, and dreamless deep sleep). It is postulated in several Upanishads and explicated in Gaudapada's '' Mandukya Karika''. Upanishads ''Turiya'' as 'the fourth' is referred to in a number of principal Upanishads. One of the earliest mentions of the phrase ''turiya'', "fourth", is in verse 5.14.3 of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (7th-6th century BCE), referring to a 'fourth foot' of the '' Gayatri Mantra'', the first, second and third foot being the 24 syllables of this mantra: According to Raju, chapter 8.7 through 8.12 of the Chandogya Upanishad (7th-6th century BCE) , though not mentioning ''turiya'', 'anticipate' the Mandukya Upanishad and it's treatment of ''turiya''. These verses of the Chandogya Upanishad set out a dialogue between Indra and Virocana, in se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samādhi
Statue of a meditating Rishikesh.html" ;"title="Shiva, Rishikesh">Shiva, Rishikesh ''Samādhi'' (Pali and ), in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, is a state of meditative consciousness. In many Indian religious traditions, the cultivation of Samādhi through various meditation methods is essential for the attainment of spiritual liberation (known variously as nirvana, moksha). In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Ashtanga Yoga tradition, it is the eighth and final limb identified in the '' Yoga Sutras'' of Patanjali. In Jain meditation, samadhi is considered one of the last stages of the practice just prior to liberation. In the oldest Buddhist sutras, on which several contemporary western Theravada teachers rely, it refers to the development of an investigative and luminous mind that is equanimous and mindful. In the yogic traditions and the Buddhist commentarial tradition, on which the Burmese Vipassana movemen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moksha
''Moksha'' (; , '), also called ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'', and ''mukti'', is a term in Jainism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, liberation, '' nirvana'', or release. In its soteriological and eschatological senses, it refers to freedom from '' saṃsāra'', the cycle of death and rebirth. In its epistemological and psychological senses, ''moksha'' is freedom from ignorance: self-realization, self-actualization and self-knowledge. In Hindu traditions, ''moksha'' is a central concept and the utmost aim of human life; the other three aims are ''dharma'' (virtuous, proper, moral life), '' artha'' (material prosperity, income security, means of life), and '' kama'' (pleasure, sensuality, emotional fulfillment). Together, these four concepts are called Puruṣārtha in Hinduism. In some schools of Indian religions, ''moksha'' is considered equivalent to and used interchangeably with other terms such as ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'', '' kaivalya'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buddhism
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or 5th century Before the Common Era, BCE. It is the Major religious groups, world's fourth-largest religion, with about 500 million followers, known as Buddhists, who comprise four percent of the global population. It arose in the eastern Gangetic plain as a movement in the 5th century BCE, and gradually spread throughout much of Asia. Buddhism has subsequently played a major role in Asian culture and spirituality, eventually spreading to Western world, the West in the 20th century. According to tradition, the Buddha instructed his followers in a path of bhavana, development which leads to Enlightenment in Buddhism, awakening and moksha, full liberation from ''Duḥkha, dukkha'' (). He regarded this path as a Middle Way between extremes su ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified by adherence to the concept of ''dharma'', a Ṛta, cosmic order maintained by its followers through rituals and righteous living, as expounded in the Vedas. The word ''Hindu'' is an exonym, and while Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, it has also been described by the modern term ''Sanātana Dharma'' () emphasizing its eternal nature. ''Vaidika Dharma'' () and ''Arya dharma'' are historical endonyms for Hinduism. Hinduism entails diverse systems of thought, marked by a range of shared Glossary of Hinduism terms, concepts that discuss God in Hinduism, theology, Hindu mythology, mythology, among other topics in Hindu texts, textual sources. Hindu texts have been classified into Śruti () and Smṛti (). The major Hin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion, diffused there from the northwest in the late Bronze Age#South Asia, Bronze Age. Sanskrit is the sacred language of Hinduism, the language of classical Hindu philosophy, and of historical texts of Buddhism and Jainism. It was a lingua franca, link language in ancient and medieval South Asia, and upon transmission of Hindu and Buddhist culture to Southeast Asia, East Asia and Central Asia in the early medieval era, it became a language of religion and high culture, and of the political elites in some of these regions. As a result, Sanskrit had a lasting effect on the languages of South Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia, especially in their formal and learned vocabularies. Sanskrit generally connotes several Indo-Aryan languages# ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Horse Markings
Markings on horses are usually distinctive white areas on an otherwise dark base equine coat color, coat color. Most horses have some markings, and they help to identify the horse as a unique individual. Markings are present at birth and do not change over the course of the horse's life. Most markings have pink skin underneath most of the white hairs, though a few faint markings may occasionally have white hair with no underlying pink skin. Markings may appear to change slightly when a horse grows or sheds its winter coat, however this difference is simply a factor of hair coat length; the underlying pattern does not change. On a gray (horse), gray horse, markings visible at birth may become hidden as the horse turns white with age, but markings can still be determined by trimming the horse's hair closely, then wetting down the coat to see where there is pink skin and black skin under the hair. Recent studies have examined the genetics behind white markings and have located ce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ochre
Ochre ( ; , ), iron ochre, or ocher in American English, is a natural clay earth pigment, a mixture of ferric oxide and varying amounts of clay and sand. It ranges in colour from yellow to deep orange or brown. It is also the name of the colours produced by this pigment, especially a light brownish-yellow. A variant of ochre containing a large amount of hematite, or dehydrated iron oxide, has a reddish tint known as red ochre (or, in some dialects, ruddle). The word ochre also describes clays coloured with iron oxide derived during the extraction of tin and copper. Earth pigments Ochre is a family of earth pigments, which includes yellow ochre, red ochre, purple ochre, sienna, and umber. The major ingredient of all the ochres is iron(III) oxide-hydroxide, known as limonite, which gives them a yellow colour. A range of other minerals may also be included in the mixture:Krivovichev V. G. Mineralogical glossary. Scientific editor :uk:Булах Андрій Глібович, A. G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Novella
A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most novelettes and short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) facts. Definition The Italian term is a feminine of ''novello'', which means ''new'', similarly to the English word ''news''. Merriam-Webster defines a novella as "a work of fiction intermediate in length and complexity between a short story and a novel". There is disagreement regarding the number of pages or words necessary for a story to be considered a novella, a short story or a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association defines a novella's word count to be between 17,500 and 40,000 words; at 250 words per page, this equates to 70 to 160 pages. See below for definitions used by other organisations. History The novella as a literary genre began developing in the Italian literature of the early Renaissance, princip ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
