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.

The Assassin's Guild returns to Krondor, seemingly killing without pattern or purpose. Squire James and newly commissioned Lieutenant William conDoin are plummeted into a dark world of Murder and politics as war threatens to engulf the Kingdom, for among those murdered is a noble from a neighbouring state. Time is short and the city is gripped in terror as the two young men race to find the man responsible for this act of war, a mysterious figure known as the Crawler.

This story taken from Jackanory, a long-running children's television series designed to stimulate an interest in reading in children

"Threads of Magic" saw the crippled sweep's boy, Drib, testing his powers of magic under the watchful eye of Nevian, Master of Magic. Now, as they move towards Candlebane Hall, the stage is set for a climax in which the powers of the evil Company of Murderers must be finally quashed.

It had all began with the theft of the Orb that had so long protected the West from the evil God Torak. Before that, Garion had been a simple farm boy. Afterward, he discovered that his aunt was really the Sorceress Polgara and his grandfather was Belgarath, the Eternal Man. Then, on the long quest to recover the Orb, Garion found to his dismay that he, too, was a sorcerer. Now, at last, the Orb was regained and the quest was nearing its end. Of course, the questors still had to escape from...