First Sister has no name and no voice. As a priestess of the Sisterhood, she travels the stars alongside the soldiers of Earth and Mars—the same ones who own the rights to her body and soul. When her former captain abandons her, First Sister’s hopes for freedom are dashed when she is forced to stay on her ship with no friends, no power, and a new captain—Saito Ren—whom she knows nothing about. She is commanded to spy on Captain Ren by the Sisterhood, but soon discovers that working for the war effort is so much harder to do when you’re falling in love. Lito val Lucius climbed his way out of the slums to become an elite soldier of Venus, but was defeated in combat by none other than Saito Ren, resulting in the disappearance of his partner, Hiro. When Lito learns that Hiro is both alive and a traitor to the cause, he now has a shot at redemption: track down and kill his former partner. But when he discovers recordings that Hiro secretly made, Lito’s own allegiances are put to the test. Ultimately, he must decide between following orders and following his heart.

Yin Xiu has lived in the Rules Town for six years. Normal players who enter diligently grind dungeons, busy surviving, but Yin Xiu stays in town every day without leaving, avoiding dungeons and monsters, idling his time away, even starting to retire. The town's monsters have had their eyes on him for six years, grinding their teeth in frustration. Despite all their efforts, they've never managed to drag him into their schemes. Day after day, they watch him stroll by, powerless against someone who's memorized every rule. A few days later, heavy rain falls on the town, and a new batch of players arrives. That night, a mysterious man forced to share Yin Xiu's room accomplishes what the town's monsters couldn't in six years—he drags Yin Xiu into a rules dungeon. That evening, the town's monsters gather in celebration: Hooray! Finally, that slacker retiree is gone! Meanwhile, the dungeon monsters begin to wail: Who dragged that man back in—the one who slaughtered his way through dungeons six years ago?! We barely managed to kick him out back then!!! Upon entering the dungeon, Yin Xiu shows little interest. Sword in hand, he glances around: Same old, no novelty. Let's speedrun this and go back to retirement. The dungeon monsters collectively sigh in relief, about to pop the champagne early, when a row of twisted, blood-red words suddenly appears before Yin Xiu: : Do I look novel enough for you? A viscous, chilling dread instantly descends upon the entire dungeon. Monsters and players alike begin to panic. "It" has emerged. — A max-level veteran returning to old dungeons to stomp noobs is just routine. Is it weird to retire after slaughtering through dungeons? Cultivating peace and feeding an evil god—perfectly normal, right? Why stare at me? My strategies aren't for you to copy.''

Dating to the ninth century B.C., Homer’s timeless poem still vividly conveys the horror and heroism of men and gods wrestling with towering emotions and battling amidst devastation and destruction, as it moves inexorably to the wrenching, tragic conclusion of the Trojan War. Renowned classicist Bernard Knox observes in his superb introduction that although the violence of the Iliad is grim and relentless, it coexists with both images of civilized life and a poignant yearning for peace. Combining the skills of a poet and scholar, Robert Fagles, winner of the PEN/Ralph Manheim Medal for Translation and a 1996 Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, brings the energy of contemporary language to this enduring heroic epic. He maintains the drive and metric music of Homer’s poetry, and evokes the impact and nuance of the Iliad’s mesmerizing repeated phrases in what Peter Levi calls “an astonishing performance.”

There is a Wild Man who lives in the deep quiet of Greenhollow, and he listens to the wood. Tobias, tethered to the forest, does not dwell on his past life, but he lives a perfectly unremarkable existence with his cottage, his cat, and his dryads. When Greenhollow Hall acquires a handsome, intensely curious new owner in Henry Silver, everything changes. Old secrets better left buried are dug up, and Tobias is forced to reckon with his troubled past—both the green magic of the woods, and the dark things that rest in its heart.

This second volume of the Greenhollow duology once again invites readers to lose themselves in the story of Henry and Tobias, and the magic of a myth they’ve always known. Even the Wild Man of Greenhollow can’t ignore a summons from his mother, when that mother is the indomitable Adela Silver, practical folklorist. Henry Silver does not relish what he’ll find in the grimy seaside town of Rothport, where once the ancient wood extended before it was drowned beneath the sea—a missing girl, a monster on the loose, or, worst of all, Tobias Finch, who loves him.