MMA. Jousting Knights. Dueling swordsman. Gladiators. They do it for the money, for the love, and the necessity. They aren't afraid of bruises, blood, and broken bones. Less Than Three Press presents a collection of stories about people who won't back down even when the whole world seems stacked against them. Heart's Tournament by Mell Eight—Torn apart by the guilds vying for control of the city, twin brothers Keel and Saar must learn to fight, and win, if they hope to reunite—but winning might be exactly what tears them apart forever. Note: This story contains twincest. Champion by Andrea Speed—Kell is the first Human heavyweight champion in the Ultimate Fighting League of the Unified Worlds, where Humans are considered the lowest of the low. His presence could make a difference for his race, especially with his lover contending for featherweight champion—if they survive. Canis Project by Kish Swanson—There is no one Liam loves more than his twin brother Alex. In the eyes of society, they probably love each other too much, but that's never stopped them. When Alex is brutally taken, however, it does stop the police from investigating. Then a stranger offers Liam a chance for revenge against the genetically-engineered monsters who murdered his brother... Note: This story contains twincest. Experiment Number Six by Mina MacLeod—When his mission goes sideways, sniper Jason Slate wakes up in a strange hospital, drugged out of his mind, and captive of a shrewd terrorist organization. He's rescued by the military and placed in the care of Eric Archer, a warrant officer charged with helping him recover. But did the terrorists lose Jason... or let him go? Knight & Novice by Cassandra Pierce—Renulf's tedious days of copying manuscripts is interrupted by two unlikely visitors to the Sanctuary: a rampaging, troll-like thief, and the knight who slays him. In thanks for his assistance, Lord Bazel is invited to stay at the Sanctuary for a few days. But when night falls, he asks Renulf to secretly translate a strange manuscript... Fight to the Finish by Diana Sheridan—Maltroos has always been proud to be a Pledger and fight against other swordsmen for the amusement of the king. But he clings to the promise of his secret lover, Prince Saxtry, who vows that one day he will abolish the brutal duels. Then the king announces a Grand Competition—and that all fights will be to the death. Rule Breaker by Archer Kay Leah—Gren has a very simple list of rules: no attachments, no loyalty, he'll fight for anyone willing to pay. His only exception to the rule is Tracel, a healer who is also his casual lover. When she is taken hostage, however, Gren realizes he may have broken his rules, and he'll have to break a few more to get her back. A Little Magic by Annabelle Kitch—When Thrim is taken to the south, he believes he can sink no lower. The slavers took his dignity, the guards took his book of magic and the arena will take his life. Then an unexpected friendship earns Thrim a new enemy, who uses Thrim's own magic to shrink him to the size of a rat and leave him even more helpless. A Good Man by Caitlin Ricci—When Emory loses his job he's afraid of what his boyfriend will think. A friend at the gym offers a solution: go one round in an upcoming fight and he'll give Emory a job training the guys. But Emory hasn't been in the ring for years, and getting back into fighting won't make his boyfriend any happier than the lost job. Gladiatrix by S.S. Skye—When Daelan is sold to the kingdom to pay off her father's debts, she knows she is bound for the Games—and not likely to last long. When she arrives, however, she unexpectedly finds she has a patron who seems determined that Daelan come out of the Games alive... Feint of Heart by Freddie Milano—For the past six years, Cal has been trying to gain the attention of Sir Taren Veretti outside of training sessions, but Taren refuses to see him as anything but a squire. He's forced to set aside his amorous goals, however, when he stumbles across a plot that could ruin Veretti and everything they've worked for. Chasing Coyote by August Aimes—Jove has been chasing his quarry for more than a year, but infamous thief and magic worker Coyote always manages to stay one step ahead—until suddenly he isn't, and Jove is way more tangled up than he ever wanted, in ways he never expected...

Every now and then, the Devil likes to pop up into the world for an adventure. He's a trickster and a mischief-maker, and just as full of vanity and other human failings. But he's also a gifted storyteller. The Devil's antics are presented in these two collections of stories, The Devil's Storybook and The Devil's Other Storybook, together in one volume. They make for delightfully wicked reading and are accompanied by charming illustrations by Natalie Babbitt.

Joseph Andrews refuses Lady Booby's advances, she discharges him, and Joseph and his old tutor, Parson Adams (one of the great comic figures of literature), sets off to visit his sweetheart, Fanny. Along the way, they meet with a series of adventures in which, through their own innocence and honesty, they expose the hypocrisy and affectation of others.Review(in full The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews and of His Friend Mr. Abraham Adams) Novel by Henry Fielding, published in 1742. It was written as a reaction against Samuel Richardson's novel Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded (1740). Joseph Andrews begins as a burlesque of Pamela, but the parodic intention of the novel soon becomes secondary, and it develops into a masterpiece of sustained irony and social criticism. At its center is Parson Adams, one of the great comic figures of literature. Joseph and the parson have a series of adventures, in all of which they manage to expose the hypocrisy and affectation of others through their own innocence and guilelessness. -- The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of LiteratureFrom the Back CoverJoseph Andrews, first published in 1742, is in part a parody of Samuel Richardson's Pamela. But whereas Richardson's novel is marked by the virtues of female chastity and the triumph of steadfast morality, Fielding's Joseph Andrews is peopled with lascivious women, thieves, hypocrites, and general fools. As we follow the characters in their travels, what unfolds is a lively panoramic satire of mid-Georgian England.

In this striking tragedy of political conflict, Shakespeare turns to the ancient Roman world and to the famous assassination of Julius Caesar by his republican opponents. The play is one of tumultuous rivalry, of prophetic warnings--"Beware the ides of March"--and of moving public oratory, "Friends, Romans, countrymen!" Ironies abound and most of all for Brutus, whose fate it is to learn that his idealistic motives for joining the conspiracy against a would-be dictator are not enough to sustain the movement once Caesar is dead.Each Edition Includes:• Comprehensive explanatory notes • Vivid introductions and the most up-to-date scholarship • Clear, modernized spelling and punctuation, enabling contemporary readers to understand the Elizabethan English• Completely updated, detailed bibliographies and performance histories • An interpretive essay on film adaptations of the play, along with an extensive filmographyFrom...

In the follow-up to his National Translation Award-winning collection The Undiscovered Chekhov, translator and scholar Peter Constantine brings us more little-known work from the legendary author's early days as a magazine writer, pseudonymously turning out pieces for Russia's small middle class. These stories are fresh, yet mature, snapshots of the style with which Chekhov would come to be associated, both uproariously tragic and darkly comic, and lit from within by a deep fellow feeling for all of humanity. As his readers have come expect, Constantine has translated this work with a masterly command of both languages' subtleties, capturing the shadings and intricacies of Chekhov's writing that flash and recede like sunlight on an orchard, offering Chekhov's tough and amused perspectives on daily phenomena like love, aging, class, and work. With moments that seem to presage the most contemporary writing, Chekhov's Little Apples reveals one of the world's greatest...

'I did have hallucinations, but did they harm anyone? Who did they harm, that's what I'd like to know!'