A Serpent's Tooth: A Longmire Mystery - Johnson, Craig Review & Synopsis

 Synopsis

"It's the scenery-and the big guy standing in front of the scenery-that keeps us coming back to Craig Johnson's lean and leathery mysteries."

  -The New York Times Book Review

The ninth Longmire book from the New York Times bestselling author of Land of Wolves

It's homecoming for the Durant Dogies when Cord Lynear, a Mormon "lost boy" forced off his compound for rebellious behavior, shows up in Absaroka County. Without much guidance, divine or otherwise, Sheriff Walt Longmire, Victoria Moretti, and Henry Standing Bear search for the boy's mother and find themselves on a high-plains scavenger hunt that ends at the barbed-wire doorstep of an interstate polygamy group. Run by four-hundred-pound Roy Lynear, Cord's father, the group is frighteningly well armed and very good at keeping secrets.

 Walt's got Cord locked up for his own good, but the Absaroka County jailhouse is getting crowded since the arrival of the boy's self-appointed bodyguard, a dangerously spry old man who claims to be blessed by Joseph Smith himself. As Walt, Vic, and Henry butt heads with the Lynears, they hear whispers of Big Oil and the CIA and fear they might be dealing with a lot more than they bargained for.

Review

Craig Johnson is the New York Times bestselling author of the Longmire mysteries, the basis for the hit Netflix original series Longmire. He is the recipient of the Western Writers of America Spur Award for fiction, the Mountains and Plains Booksellers Award for fiction, the Nouvel Observateur Prix du Roman Noir, and the Prix SNCF du Polar. His novella Spirit of Steamboat was the first One Book Wyoming selection. He lives in Ucross, Wyoming, population twenty-five.

1 

I stared at the black-and-orange corsage on Barbara Thomas's lapel so that I wouldn't have to look at anything else.

I don't like funerals, and a while ago I just stopped going to them. I think the ceremony is a form of denial, and when my wife died and my daughter, Cady, informed me that she was unaware of any instance where going to somebody's funeral ever brought them back, I just about gave it up.

Mrs. Thomas had been the homecoming queen when Truman made sure that the buck stopped with him, which explained the somewhat garish ornament pinned on her prim and proper beige suit. Next week was the big game between the Durant Dogies and their archrival, the Worland Warriors, and the whole town was black-and-orange crazy.

The only thing worse than going to the funeral of someone you knew is going to the funeral of a person you didn't; you get to stand there and be told about somebody you had never met, and all I ever feel is that I missed my chance.

I had missed my chance with Dulcie Meriwether, who had been one of Durant's fine and upstanding women-after all, I'm the sheriff of Absaroka County, so the fine and upstanding often live and pass beyond my notice. On a fine October afternoon I leaned against the railing leading to the First Methodist Church, not so much to praise Dulcie Meriwether-or to bury her-but rather to talk about angels.

I reached out and straightened Barbara Thomas's corsage.

One of the jobs of an elected official in Wyoming is to understand one's constituency and listen to people-help them with their problems-even if they're bat-shit crazy. I was listening to Barbara tell me about the angels who were currently assisting her with home repair, which I took as proof that she had passed the entrance exam to that particular belfry.

I glanced at Mike Thomas, who had asked me to bushwhack his aunt on this early high plains afternoon. He wanted me to talk to her and figured the only way he could arrange running into me was by having me stand outside the church and wait for the two of them as they departed for a late lunch after the service.

I was trying not to look at the other person leaning on the railing with me, my undersheriff, Victoria Moretti, who, although she was trying to work off a hangover from too much revelry at the Basque Festival bacchanal the night before, had decided to take advantage of my being in town on a Sunday. The only person left to look at was Barbara, eighty-two years old, platinum hair coiffed to perfection, and, evidently, mad as a hatter.

"So, when did the angels pitch in and start working around your place, Mrs. Thomas?"

"Call me Barbara, Walter." She nodded her head earnestly, as if she didn't want us to think she was crazy.

As Vic would say, "Good luck with that."

"About two weeks ago I made a little list and suddenly the railing on the front porch was fixed." She leveled a malevolent glance at the well-dressed cowboy in the navy blazer and tie to my left, her youngest nephew. "It's difficult to get things done around home since Michael lives so far away."

As near as I could remember, Mike's sculpture studio was right at the edge of town, and I knew he lived only two miles east, but that was between the two of them. I adjusted the collar of my flannel shirt, enjoying the fact that I wasn't in uniform today, figuring it was going to be the extent of my daily pleasure. "So, the angels came and fixed the railing?"

"Yes."

"Anything else?"

She nodded again, enthusiastically. "Lots of things-they unclogged my gutters, rehung the screen door on the back porch, and fixed the roof on the pump house."

Vic sighed. "Jesus, you wanna send 'em over to my place?"

I ignored my undersheriff, which was difficult to do. She was wearing a summer dress in an attempt to forestall the season, and a marvelous portion of her tanned legs was revealed above her boots and below the hem. "Have you ever actually seen the angels, Mrs. Thomas?"

"Barbara, please." She shook her head, indulging my lack of knowledge of all things celestial. "They don't work that way."

"So, how do they work?"

She placed the palms of her hands together and leaned forward. "I make my little list, and the things just get done. It's a sign of divine providence."

Vic mumbled under her breath. "It's a sign of divine senility."

Barbara Thomas continued without breaking stride. "I have a notebook where I number the things that have to be done in order of importance, then I leave it on the room divider and presto." She leaned back and beamed at me. "He works in mysterious ways." She paused for a moment to glance at the church looming over my shoulder and then altered the subject. "You used to go to services here, didn't you, Walter?"

"Yes, ma'am, I used to accompany my late wife."

"But you haven't been since she passed away?"

I took a deep breath to relieve the tightness in my chest the way I always did when anybody brought up the subject of Martha. "No, ma'am. We had an agreement that she'd take care of the next world if I took care of this one." I glanced at Mike as he smoothed his mustache and tried not to smile. "And there seems to be enough to hold my attention here lately." I turned my eyes back to her. "So you haven't ever seen them?"

"Seen who?"

"The holy handymen, for Christ's sake."

Barbara looked annoyed. "Young lady, you need to watch your language."

I drew Barbara's attention away from a sure-shot, head-on, verbal train wreck. "So you haven't actually seen the angels then?"

"No." She thought about it and stared at the cracks in the sidewalk, the strands of struggling grass having abandoned the hope of pushing through. "They do take some food out of the icebox every now and again."

I kept my eyes on her. "Food?"

"Yes." She thought some more. "And they sometimes take a shower."

"A shower."

She was nodding again. "But they always clean up after themselves; I just notice because the towels are damp or there are a few pieces of fried chicken missing."

I shot Mike a look, but he was studying the banks of Clear Creek on the other side of the gravel walk a little ways away, probably checking for trout and wishing he was somewhere else. My eyes tracked back to the elderly woman. "Fried chicken."

"Yes, it would appear that angels really like Chester's fried chicken."

I leaned back on the railing and watched the dancing pattern of light on the water for a while myself, the scattered golden leaves of the aspens spinning like a lost flotilla. "I see."

"And Oreos; the angels like Double Stuf Oreos, too."

"Anything else?"

"Vernors Diet Ginger Ale."

"You must be running up quite a grocery bill feeding the legions." I smiled and chose my next words carefully. "Barbara, when these things happen . . . I mean, do you make your list and then go to bed and get up and everything is repaired?"

"Oh no, I do my agenda in the morning, then I go out to run my errands or go to my bridge club, and when I get back everything's done."

"In the morning?"

"By the middle of the afternoon, yes."

I pulled out my pocket watch and looked at it, noticing it was ten after one. "So if I were to head over to your place right now, it's likely that I might catch the angels at their labors?"

She looked a little worried. "I suppose."

"What is it you've got them doing today?"

She thought. "There's a leak in the trap under the kitchen sink."

Vic couldn't hold her peace. "Wait, angels work on Sundays?"

I looked at the nice but crazy old lady. "Where do they get parts on a Sunday; Buell Hardware is closed."

Her eyes narrowed. "I get them the supplies, Walter. The Lord provides, but I don't think that extends to plumbing parts."

"Hmm . . ." I stood up, and she looked concerned.

"Where are you going?"

"I think I'll drive by your place while you and Mike have lunch." I shrugged. "Maybe see if we can get Vic here a little divine guidance."

Barbara Thomas folded her hands like broken-winged birds and spoke in a quiet voice. "I'd rather you didn't, Walter."

I waited a moment and then asked, "And why is that?"

She paused, just a little petulant, and then looked up at me with damp eyes. "They do good works, and you shouldn't interrupt good works."

"Do you think there are more crazy people in our county than anywhere else?"

We drove west of town in the direction of Barbara Thomas's house, and I turned down the air in the Bullet so that the fan would not blow Vic's dress any higher on her smooth thighs as she propped her cowboy boots on the escarpment of the dash. "Per capita?"

"In general."

I redirected a vent in the direction of Dog, panting in the backseat. "Well, nature hates a vacuum and strange things are drawn into empty places; sometimes oddities survive where nothing else can." I glanced over at her. "Why?"

"That would include us?"

"Technically."

She glanced out the windshield, her face a little troubled. "I don't want to end up alone in a house making lists for my imaginary friends."

I took a left onto Klondike Drive and thought about how Vic had seemed to be given to philosophical musings as of late. "Somehow, I don't see that happening."

She glanced at me. "I noticed you didn't offer to share your experiences with the spirit world with her."

Vic was referring to the events in the Cloud Peak Wilderness Area that I'd had in the spring, an experience I wasn't sure I'd even fully processed yet. "It didn't seem pertinent."

"Uh-huh."

I gave her a look back and noticed she was massaging one temple with her fingers. "How's your head?"

"Like hell, thanks for asking." "You mind if I inquire as to what happened at the Basque Festival?" She adjusted her boots on the dash and confessed. "I was traumatized."

"By what?"

"The running of the sheep."

I thought I must've misheard. "The what?"

"The running of the fucking sheep, which you conveniently missed by taking the day off yesterday." "The running of the sheep?" She massaged the bridge of her nose. "You heard me." "What happened?" "I don't want to talk about it; you don't want to talk about

your imaginary friends, and I don't want to talk about the running of the sheep." She played with the pull strap on her boot. "Suffice to say that I am not working the Basque Festival ever again."

I shrugged as we passed the YMCA and continued down the hill and past Duffy, the vintage locomotive in the park at the children's center. I took a right on Upper Clear Creek Road, then pulled up and parked under the shade of a yellowing cottonwood next to Barbara Thomas's mailbox.

"We're walking?"

"There's shade here, and Dog is hot." I lowered the windows to give him a little extra air. "Besides, I like to sneak up on my angels. How about you?"

She cracked open the passenger-side door and slipped out, pulling her skirt down. Boots and short skirts-a look for which I held a great weakness. "I'm not exactly dressed for a footrace."

I closed the door quietly and moved around to the front of the truck to meet her. "I thought angels flew."

"Yeah, and shit floats."

A Serpent in Turquoise

Careening down a winding pass in Mexico to escape a truckload of goons wasn't how dinosaur hunter Raine Ashaway planned to meet Anson McCord, the archaeologist who'd written her regarding a possible fossil find. She'd expected the professor to be a fossil himself, but McCord's more Indiana Jones than the Mummy. And when he describes a lost Aztec city whose people worshipped a god resembling a never-before-seen species of triceratops, the news gets her blood pumping as much as his sexy Texan smile. Raine's ready to seek the city of the Feathered Serpent with McCord, but can she trust him to share the spoils? It may not matter--others will do anything to keep them from finding it

Careening down a winding pass in Mexico to escape a truckload of goons wasn't how dinosaur hunter Raine Ashaway planned to meet Anson McCord, the archaeologist who'd written her regarding a possible fossil find."

A Dragon's Head and a Serpent's Tail

The invasion of Korea by Japanese troops in May of 1592 was no ordinary military expedition: it was one of the decisive events in Asian history and the most tragic for the Korean peninsula until the mid-twentieth century. Japanese overlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi envisioned conquering Korea, Ming China, and eventually all of Asia; but Korea’s appeal to China’s Emperor Wanli for assistance triggered a six-year war involving hundreds of thousands of soldiers and encompassing the whole region. For Japan, the war was “a dragon’s head followed by a serpent’s tail”: an impressive beginning with no real ending. Kenneth M. Swope has undertaken the first full-length scholarly study in English of this important conflict. Drawing on Korean, Japanese, and especially Chinese sources, he corrects the Japan-centered perspective of previous accounts and depicts Wanli not as the self-indulgent ruler of received interpretations but rather one actively engaged in military affairs—and concerned especially with rescuing China’s client state of Korea. He puts the Ming in a more vigorous light, detailing Chinese siege warfare, the development and deployment of innovative military technologies, and the naval battles that marked the climax of the war. He also explains the war’s repercussions outside the military sphere—particularly the dynamics of intraregional diplomacy within the shadow of the Chinese tributary system. What Swope calls the First Great East Asian War marked both the emergence of Japan’s desire to extend its sphere of influence to the Chinese mainland and a military revival of China’s commitment to defending its interests in Northeast Asia. Swope’s account offers new insight not only into the history of warfare in Asia but also into a conflict that reverberates in international relations to this day.

Ming China and the First Great East Asian War, 1592–1598 Kenneth M. Swope. Dragon had been a good one for the Japanese. The year of the serpent would not prove nearly as fortuitous. 4 A SERPENT'S TAIL The Rescue of Korea, 1593—94 i."

There Once Was a Serpent

This book gives a concise history of Christian theology based on a mysteriously discovered set of seventy-four limericks. Readers who already know the history of theology will read about it from an unfamiliar perspective ? and beginners will learn the basics in an accessible form. The limericks range from Gnostic theology through to the Reformation, and on to Karl Barth and Paul Tillich. If all of this seems unfamiliar, the accompanying text should help sort it all out.

This book gives a concise history of Christian theology based on a mysteriously discovered set of seventy-four limericks."

The Serpent Bride

Fantasy. Rescued from unspeakable horror, Ishbel Brunelle has devoted her life to a Serpent cult that reads the future in the entrails of its human sacrifices. But the Serpent has larger plans for Ishbel than merely being archpriestess, plans that call for a dangerous royal marriage balancing on the edge between treachery and devotion, and an eerie, eldritch warning: Prepare for the Lord of Elcho Falling. And there are other dangers. For while Tencendor is gone, even its fall cannot destroy the Icarii. As the Tyrant of Isembaard reaches for glory, both StarDrifter SunSoar and his son, Axis, are pulled into the deadly dance of intrigue and sorcery. The DarkGlass Mountain--once known as the Threshold--is waiting, and as the Dark God Kanubai rises from his prison in exile, no one will escape unscathed

Fantasy. Rescued from unspeakable horror, Ishbel Brunelle has devoted her life to a Serpent cult that reads the future in the entrails of its human sacrifices."

The Serpent Lord

A princess torn between tradition and truth. Princess Sarra of Olmalis is a vision of the future—poised, proud, and confident. As her kingdom settles into peace after a long civil war, she yearns to escape the shackles of expectation her father and his court place upon her. But when she is abducted at the command of a man known only as ‘The Serpent Lord’, Sarra is led to question everything she has ever known. Taken from the safety of her castle to the treacherous bogs and cold, stone walls of a forgotten city called Ro’al, she embarks on a journey searching for answers, intent on solving the mystery of her intriguing captor. However, the more she learns of The Serpent Lord and his plight, the more she discovers secrets that surround her kingdom and the people who rule it. When she finally uncovers the truth, will Sarra trust her past or will she believe in her future?

However, the more she learns of The Serpent Lord and his plight, the more she discovers secrets that surround her kingdom and the people who rule it."

The Serpent of Venice

New York Times bestselling author Christopher Moore channels William Shakespeare and Edgar Allan Poe in The Serpent of Venice, a satiric Venetian gothic that brings back the Pocket of Dog Snogging, the eponymous hero of Fool, along with his sidekick, Drool, and pet monkey, Jeff. Venice, a long time ago. Three prominent Venetians await their most loathsome and foul dinner guest, the erstwhile envoy of Britain and France, and widower of the murdered Queen Cordelia: the rascal Fool Pocket. This trio of cunning plotters—the merchant, Antonio; the senator, Montressor Brabantio; and the naval officer, Iago—have lured Pocket to a dark dungeon, promising an evening of spirits and debauchery with a rare Amontillado sherry and Brabantio’s beautiful daughter, Portia. But their invitation is, of course, bogus. The wine is drugged. The girl isn’t even in the city limits. Desperate to rid themselves once and for all of the man who has consistently foiled their grand quest for power and wealth, they have lured him to his death. (How can such a small man, be such a huge obstacle?). But this Fool is no fool . . . and he’s got more than a few tricks (and hand gestures) up his sleeve.

These scoundrels have something far less amusing planned for the man who has consistently foiled their quest for power and wealth. But this Fool is no fool . . . and the story is only beginning."

The Serpent Gift

The third book in the thrilling fantasy adventure series, The Shamer Chronicles A watching face in a market crowd, a mist-shrouded figure on the moor, a haunting presence seen only when he wants to be seen? Sezuan, possessor of the Serpent Gift for lie and illusion, is a chilling and ambiguous figure at the best of times. He is also Dina's father. And when he comes to claim the daughter he has never seen, the Shamer and her family are catapulted into reckless flight and danger. With nowhere else to turn, Dina must learn to see through her father's deceit and use her own powers to her advantage.

The third book in the thrilling fantasy adventure series, The Shamer Chronicles A watching face in a market crowd, a mist-shrouded figure on the moor, a haunting presence seen only when he wants to be seen?"

Flying Serpents and Dragons

A highly original work that deals a shattering blow to all our preconceived notions about our past and human origins. Worldwide legends refer to giant flying lizards and dragons that came to this planet and founded the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, India and China. Who were these reptilian creatures? What was the real reason for mans creation? Why did Adam lose his chance at immortality in the Garden of Eden? Who were the Nefilim who descended from heaven and mated with human women? Why did the serpent take such a bad rap in history? Why didnt Adam and Eve wear clothes? What were the crystals or stones that the gods fought over? Why did the ancient Sumerians call their major gods USHUMGAL, which means literally great fiery, flying serpent? What were the boats of heaven in ancient Egypt and the sky chariots of the Bible? This book tells it all.

The Legged Snakes of Eden According to Genesis and other documents , and long before humans ever existed , the serpent lived in the Garden of Eden and did all the necessary work to maintain it . This Biblical serpent was not just a ..."

The Serpent's Truth

This gritty new eBook will affect the way you interpret the bible and the way you see yourself. A commitment to finding God's original plan for mankind inspired this thoughtful writing. This research not only de-converted a Christian but it unearthed a wealth of hidden knowledge. Knowledge that you have the right to know. The Serpent's Truth is a thorough education in biblical code cracking. With it you will come to see: • How God acquired his power and how you can do the same. • That God created two different men in Genesis and why. • Why ignoring God’s commandment was necessary for you. • A man become a god before your eyes, and • Two talkative serpents. The lessons in total will lead you to a biblical fact that even those that deem it the highest authority cannot dispute: that which they believe to be the authority, has declared you to be a god. Get your copy of the eBook ‘The Serpent’s Truth’! And ye too shall be as gods, knowing good & evil.

The story opens with a full description of a serpent . The bible declares the serpent to be the most 'subtil' [sic], meaning crafty, of all the beast God had brought forth. Scripture then states this serpent asked the woman a question, ..."

The Church of the Serpent: The Philosophy of the Snake and Attaining Transcendent Knowledge

Welcome to the Church of the Serpent. The universe is the Tree of Knowledge. At the top of the tree is the Golden Bough with which we attain Golden Knowledge, the Apex Knowledge of the cosmos. So, we must climb. All the way to the highest consciousness. The Church of the Serpent is devoted to knowledge – ultimate knowledge, the knowledge of existence itself. We must have Absolute Knowledge. Nothing else will suffice. Completion, or nothing. From the top of the Tree of Knowledge, we command all knowledge. Are you one of the Serpents of wisdom? Are you one of the protectors of the Tree of Knowledge? Everyone is faced with the same test: to embrace knowledge or reject it. The Bible, as well as love and light, mysticism, and sensory science, all say that you should fear and reject knowledge in itself. Adam and Eve did the right thing. They ate the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. They were condemned and punished for that, and knowledge has been deemed “forbidden”, “dangerous”, and “unwelcome” ever since. Not in the Church of the Serpent. The altar of the Church of the Serpent bears the Tree of Knowledge itself. Everyone must eat the apples of knowledge. Drink the serpent elixir. Come to the Church of the Serpent. Learn the philosophy of the snake and access the highest transcendent knowledge. Who is the real God in the Garden of Eden? Is it the ignorant “God” who tries to keep humanity away from knowledge, who forbids Adam and Eve from accessing knowledge, or is it the Serpent who leads Adam and Eve to the highest knowledge and transforms them through the gift of consciousness and, finally, super consciousness? The False God is always an enemy of knowledge, and the True God always a promoter of knowledge. Yet, to the idiot masses, it’s knowledge itself that’s evil. For them, knowledge is the Original Sin. The Serpent spoke with words of fire and none who heard them failed to tremble. The words were lit by lightning. Come and join the Church of the Serpent. Learn the philosophy of the snake and slough off the old, failed skin of humanity. Don’t you want to be one of the Prometheans, the HyperHumans, the Faustians? Don’t you want to complete the journey from Cimmeria (Alpha) to Hyperborea (Omega)? Only the Serpent Humans can bring all of humanity to the most precious fruit of the Tree of Knowledge and confer Absolute Knowledge on everyone. Only through the Serpents will you achieve gnosis.

Welcome to the Church of the Serpent."

The Serpent Myths of Ancient Egypt

Following out the same symbolic teaching , to imply the swiftness and extent of the divine attributes , the serpent Fig . 18. The serpent and dish of the goddess Maut , the great mother . of good is often invested with wings ; not that ..."

The Serpent's Head

A hired gun delivers frontier justice on a colony world. The man called Twelve is a hired gun, taking his laser pistol from planet to planet, hiring his services out to the highest bidder. He finds himself on Glycon-Prime, a new colony at the edge of space. On the hunt for work, Twelve blows into a small, frontier town—only to find a massacre. The only survivors? A trio of young children, devastated by the murder of their families. They are hellbent on hiring the gunslinger to get revenge on the leader of the vicious mutants responsible...the man known only as The Serpent’s Head.

The head of a serpent baring its fangs inside of a black half-circle. Perhaps it was designed to strike fear and menace into the hearts of those who viewed it, but it did nothing but make the stranger want to laugh."

The Pit of the Serpent

This early work by Robert E. Howard was originally published in 1929 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. 'The Pit of the Serpent' is a story in the Sailor Steve Costigan series about a travelling boxer. Robert Ervin Howard was born in Peaster, Texas in 1906. During his youth, his family moved between a variety of Texan boomtowns, and Howard - a bookish and somewhat introverted child - was steeped in the violent myths and legends of the Old South. At fifteen Howard began to read the pulp magazines of the day, and to write more seriously. The December 1922 issue of his high school newspaper featured two of his stories, 'Golden Hope Christmas' and 'West is West'. In 1924 he sold his first piece - a short caveman tale titled 'Spear and Fang' - for $16 to the not-yet-famous Weird Tales magazine. Howard's most famous character, Conan the Cimmerian, was a barbarian-turned-King during the Hyborian Age, a mythical period of some 12,000 years ago. Conan featured in seventeen Weird Tales stories between 1933 and 1936 which is why Howard is now regarded as having spawned the 'sword and sorcery' genre. The Conan stories have since been adapted many times, most famously in the series of films starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.

This early work by Robert E. Howard was originally published in 1929 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. 'The Pit of the Serpent' is a story in the Sailor Steve Costigan series about a travelling boxer."

The Serpent's Daughter

Embark on a ?rollicking tale of adventure and suspense?(Library Journal) through 1920s Morocco?third in the acclaimed series, now in paperback. Joining her mother for a holiday in the ancient port city of Tangier, American adventuress Jade del Cameron expects their trip will be far less dangerous than her safaris in East Africa. But soon after their introduction to a group of European tourists, Doña del Cameron goes missing?victim of an apparent kidnapping?and, shockingly, the French authorities seek to arrest Jade for the murder of a man whose body she discovered in a series of ancient tunnels. Now, Jade must call upon her friends to help find her mother and expose the true villains, who have every intention of bringing about her own destruction.

Embark on a ?rollicking tale of adventure and suspense?(Library Journal) through 1920s Morocco?third in the acclaimed series, now in paperback."

The Serpent Symbol in the Ancient Near East

The serpent symbol has been a part of western culture since antiquity. Throughout time, it has been misunderstood and misrepresented. The Serpent Symbol in the Ancient Near East is the first comparative study of the origins of the serpent symbol from its first attestations in Dravidian South India through Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East including, Egypt, Classical Greece, and as far west as ancient Carthage. The role of the serpent as the agent of life, death, and healing is demonstrated in the various cultures both individually and in combination, in order to clearly understand the symbol.

The Serpent Symbol in the Ancient Near East is the first comparative study of the origins of the serpent symbol from its first attestations in Dravidian South India through Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East including, Egypt, Classical ..."

The Serpent Came to Gloucester

An award-winning author and illustrator present a tribute to the beauty and mystery of the ocean. It came from the sea, from the lonely sea, It came from the glittering sea. In a small Massachusetts fishing village in August of 1817, dozens of citizens claimed to have seen an enormous sea serpent swimming off the coast. Terrified at first, the people of Gloucester eventually became quite accustomed to their new neighbor. Adventure seekers came from miles around to study the serpent and aggressively hunt it down, but the creature eluded capture. The Gloucester sea serpent was then, and remains now, a complete mystery. Reviving the rhythms and tone of a traditional sea chanty, M.T. Anderson recounts this exhilarating sea adventure through the eyes of a little boy who secretly hopes for the serpent's survival. The author's captivating verse is paired with Bagram Ibatoulline's luminous paintings, created in the spirit of nineteenth-century New England maritime artists.

Reviving the rhythms and tone of a traditional sea chanty, M.T. Anderson recounts this exhilarating sea adventure through the eyes of a little boy who secretly hopes for the serpent's survival."

The Serpent and the Rope

Rama, a young scholar, meets Madeleine at a university in France. Though they seem to be made for each other, both alike in temperament and character, at times they are divided, a huge gulf separating them. Rama’s trip back to India for his father’s illness forcibly reminds him of the underlying contrasts between India and Europe, and of a certain conflict between them in himself. When he returns to France, Rama and Madeleine must face the problems in their marriage. Can they preserve their identities, or must one sacrifice one’s inheritance to make the relationship a success?

Rama, a young scholar, meets Madeleine at a university in France."

The Serpent and the Pearl

A gripping novel about history’s most infamous family—The Borgias—and an innocent girl pulled into their treacherous rise to power, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Alice Network and The Diamond Eye. Rome, 1492. The Holy City is drenched with blood and teeming with secrets. A pope lies dying and the throne of God is left vacant, a prize awarded only to the most virtuous—or the most ruthless. The Borgia family begins its legendary rise, chronicled by an innocent girl who finds herself drawn into their dangerous web… Vivacious Giulia Farnese has floor-length golden hair and the world at her feet: beauty, wealth, and a handsome young husband. But she is stunned to discover that her glittering marriage is a sham, and she is to be given as a concubine to the ruthless, charismatic Cardinal Borgia: Spaniard, sensualist, candidate for Pope—who is passionately in love with her. Two trusted companions will follow her into the Pope's shadowy harem: Leonello, a cynical bodyguard bent on bloody revenge against a mysterious killer, and Carmelina, a fiery cook with a past full of secrets. But as corruption thickens in the Vatican and the enemies begin to circle, Giulia and her friends will need all their wits to survive in the world of the Borgias.

A gripping novel about history’s most infamous family—The Borgias—and an innocent girl pulled into their treacherous rise to power, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Alice Network and The Diamond Eye."

The Serpent's Teeth

In a world of gods and monsters, nothing is as it seems. When a deadly serpent's teeth are sown in the ground, warriors spring from the bloody soil. Only a great man can tame them and fulfil his destiny. Far away, Medusa, snakes writhing in her hair, meets her nemesis; the princess Andromeda is chained to a rock; people are transformed into owls, frogs, even mountains; a boy falls tragically in love with his own reflection. Enter a universe where love is cruel, men are destroyed by the gods and treachery is paid for in blood ...

In a world of gods and monsters, nothing is as it seems. When a deadly serpent's teeth are sown in the ground, warriors spring from the bloody soil. Only a great man can tame them and fulfil his destiny."

A Serpent in Eden

Night comes quickly to the Bahamas. That of 7 July 1943 was unpleasantly close and humid, for though the rains were nearing their end, the air was heavy with an approaching storm. It struck Nassau soon after midnight. By the time it had blown itself out, one of the world's richest men, Sir Harry Oakes, had been murdered in his own bedroom. He had been burned alive, then had his skull broken by four blows to the head. When the body was found at daybreak, bloody handprints marked the walls of the room, while a fan stirred small white feathers that clung to the charred corpse on the bed. Beyond it, the window stood wide open. Even in the middle of wartime, Oakes's death commanded front-page headlines in the world's newspapers, and began a series of events whose protagonists included the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Ernest Hemingway, two French aristocrats, a suspected Nazi and a grey Maltese cat, and which culminated in the sensational trial and acquittal of Oakes's own son-in-law for the crime. Owen's brilliant telling of the story stands alongside James Fox's WHITE MISCHIEF as a true-crime classic as well as an extraordinary portrait of a glamorous and corrupt society.

Owen's brilliant telling of the story stands alongside James Fox's WHITE MISCHIEF as a true-crime classic as well as an extraordinary portrait of a glamorous and corrupt society."

The Serpent and the Serpent Slayer

Although a story with a serpent, a damsel in distress, and a serpent slayer may sound like just another fairy tale, it is, in fact, part of the greatest true account ever told—the Bible. Epic tales resonate with readers because they echo the greatest story. In this new addition to the Short Studies in Biblical Theology series, Andrew David Naselli traces the theme of snakes and dragons from the serpent in the garden to the devouring dragon in Revelation, culminating with the return of the King. New and seasoned Christians alike will experience afresh the captivating unifying narrative behind all stories as they embark on a journey through the Bible with a trusted biblical scholar.

Epic tales resonate with readers because they echo the greatest story."

The Serpent Column

The Serpent Column, a bronze sculpture that has stood in Delphi and Constantinople, today Istanbul, is a Greek representation of the Near Eastern primordial combat myth: it is Typhon, a dragon defeated by Zeus, and also Python slain by Apollo. The column was created after the Battle of Plataia (479 BC), where the sky was dominated by serpentine constellations and by the spiralling tails of the Milky Way. It was erected as a votive for Apollo and as a monument to the victory of the united Greek poleis over the Persians. It is as a victory monument that the column was transplanted to Constantinople and erected in the hippodrome. The column remained a monument to cosmic victory through centuries, but also took on other meanings. Through the Byzantine centuries these interpretation were fundamentally Christian, drawing upon serpentine imagery in Scripture, patristic and homiletic writings. When Byzantines saw the monument they reflected upon this multivalent serpentine symbolism, but also the fact that it was a bronze column. For these observers, it evoked the Temple's brazen pillars, Moses' brazen serpent, the serpentine tempter of Genesis (Satan), and the beast of Revelation. The column was inserted into Christian sacred history, symbolizing creation and the end times. The most enduring interpretation of the column, which is unrelated to religion, and therefore survived the Ottoman capture of the city, is as a talisman against snakes and snake-bites. It is this tale that was told by travellers to Constantinople throughout the Middle Ages, and it is this story that is told to tourists today who visit Istanbul. In this book, Paul Stephenson twists together multiple strands to relate the cultural biography of a unique monument.

In this book, Paul Stephenson twists together multiple strands to relate the cultural biography of a unique monument."

Hathor Rising

Drawing together temple art, myths, rituals and poetry, Hathor Rising reveals a rich tradition of feminine divinity. It explores how the sexual polarity of Hathor and the sun god manifests in the Pharaoh's life' as well as Hathor's connection with Isis and the moon cults. The serpent cult was given a new impetus by Hatshepsut, the innovative female Pharaoh whose remarkable reign, early in the 15th century BC, laid the foundations for the cultural splendour of New Kingdom Egypt. Ecstatic, musical, heart-centred -- the serpent tradition was interrupted only by the reign of Akhenaten who suppressed much of the serpent cult in favour of a trinitarian father god.

Drawing together temple art, myths, rituals and poetry, Hathor Rising reveals a rich tradition of feminine divinity."

The Serpent

THE STORY: The Boston Herald Traveler comments: While most of the work is choreographed movement, pantomime, human sounds and music made by bells, horns, whistles, tambourines and other hand-held instruments, there is an accompanying text from the

THE STORY: The Boston Herald Traveler comments: While most of the work is choreographed movement, pantomime, human sounds and music made by bells, horns, whistles, tambourines and other hand-held instruments, there is an accompanying text ..."

The Serpent and the Swan

The Serpent and the Swan is a history and analysis of animal bride tales from antiquity to the present. The animal bride tale, the author argues, is an enduring expression of humankind's need to remain close to and a part of nature. Boria Sax traces the idea of the animal bride through history by drawing upon legends and literary works from throughout the world. He pays particular attention to Eurasian sources which support his thesis that the animal bride theme originated among the serpent cults of Mesopotamia and southeastern Europe. Through time, the details of the animal bride theme changed as a result of mankind's changing perceptions of the natural world. In general, this study is an account of myths and beliefs that have surrounded animals--and women--during the rise of modern humankind. The Serpent and the Swan identifies and explains images of the animal bride that pervade, enliven, and enrich our culture. The bride becomes Eve taking an apple from the serpent, Medea casting spells, Cinderella riding to the royal ball in a pumpkin coach, and the Little Mermaid rising from the waves. The Author: Boria Sax, who holds a doctorate in German and intellectual history, is the author of The Frog King and The Parliament of Animals, among other books.

The Serpent and the Swan is a history and analysis of animal bride tales from antiquity to the present. The animal bride tale, the author argues, is an enduring expression of humankind's need to remain close to and a part of nature."

Reading Like a Serpent

Many remember The Scarlet Letter as required reading for reluctant sixteen year olds. The unnamed, elusive narrator of Hawthorne's "tale of human frailty and sorrow" is--some readers might say maddeningly--indirect, ambiguous, and inconsistent. Readers who hope to arrive at satisfying judgments about the book's four iconic characters--Hester, Arthur, Roger, and Pearl--are often left to arrive at their conclusions by guess and inference. The narrator provides what seems to be willfully incomplete information. His point of view shifts from one moral or historical perspective to another without announcement or apology. Reading Like a Serpent invites readers to reconsider this American classic as Hawthorne's challenge to the American public to become more generous, versatile, and responsible readers--especially of the Bible, a book Hawthorne hoped to rescue from moralistic literalists and legalists, reminding us that "the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life."

Reading Like a Serpent invites readers to reconsider this American classic as Hawthorne's challenge to the American public to become more generous, versatile, and responsible readers--especially of the Bible, a book Hawthorne hoped to ..."

Adam, Eve, and the Serpent

A National Book Award winner and New York Times bestselling author deepens and refreshes our view of early Christianity while casting a disturbing light on the evolution of the attitudes passed down to us. "Confirms her reputation as both a scholar and a popular interpreter.... Continuously rewarding and illuminating." —The New York Times How did the early Christians come to believe that sex was inherently sinful? When did the Fall of Adam become synonymous with the fall of humanity? What turned Christianity from a dissident sect that championed the integrity of the individual and the idea of free will into the bulwark of a new imperial order—with the central belief that human beings cannot not choose to sin? In this provocative masterpiece of historical scholarship Elaine Pagels re-creates the controversies that racked the early church as it confronted the riddles of sexuality, freedom, and sin as embodied in the story of Genesis. And she shows how what was once heresy came to shape our own attitudes toward the body and the soul.

In this provocative masterpiece of historical scholarship Elaine Pagels re-creates the controversies that racked the early church as it confronted the riddles of sexuality, freedom, and sin as embodied in the story of Genesis."