Dark Ages Literature

Thirteen-year-old Al Mathews always considered himself ordinary. He didn’t believe in magic, monsters, or anything out of the ordinary—until the day he was attacked by a Pawn. Chased by a shadow and forced to defend himself from a fencer, Al's world is about to be turned upside down. When he moves to a new town, Al hopes to leave his troubled past behind. But trouble seems to follow him. With a group of unlikely friends, Al finds himself caught in a battle between good and evil. As dark forces close in, Al must make life-or-death decisions, racing against time to save those he cares about.

Invisible to the man she loves, Reeve Lennox fights to reclaim him from a dark world. As her wedding day nears in Acarsaid, her betrothed Arden offers only his wayward soul and saucy tongue. At night she desperately tries to reach Bran, the young soldier of nightmarish Tenebris who holds her heart. However, her king insists that the realms of Tenebris and Acarsaid must remain separate, lest the evil wizard Rancore brutally conquer all. But the dark magic of Tenebris defies mere distance.

Danny Firoth is an average 13-year-old who finds himself at the beginning of his eighth-grade year, struggling with some of the more common concerns that plague a boy of his age: Bullies, homework, and his mother. Sabrina Drake is the new girl. She is beautiful and spellbinding but carries a fantastic secret. Accepted into the White Rock Academy of Illumination, a school for young Squires destined to become Knights of the Light and battle the forces of the Dark with magical weapons called Bondeds, Danny joins his five closest friends in the training of their lives.

I don't know anything about going out with girls.... It’s not been on my radar so why now? All it took was one hot summer day right after graduation.... Mom and Dad's going on vacation and they're leaving me alone; an 18-year-old for one whole month....

The strongest of them all. Eyes blacker than the darkness they all fantasize about, but have never seen. An abomination. Hemera Harkibel has spent her life concealing abilities she doesn’t fully understand. She is hated and feared because of her black eyes and inhuman strength. When her people’s underground cave system is attacked, Hemera is thrust above ground into a dangerous world where the sun’s rays can kill in seconds and enemies are tracking her every move.... Hemera comes to learn that her very existence is a threat in the war brewing between humans and Halves.

Logan Ragsdale and his younger sister, Ariana, have been marked, chosen to be unwilling participants in a war between angels and demons. Logan can sense something's not quite right. Like an unexpected chill on a summer's day, he can feel the unseen closing in. He's had these feelings before, and each time, someone close to him died. He's afraid this time it might just be Ariana. Logan's fears are soon confirmed when he discovers their new friends aren't human, but rather representatives from Heaven and Hell sent to Earth to ensure he and Ariana accept their roles.

It was my father’s arrest that brought me here, although you could certainly say that I took the scenic route. Here is rehab, where Ben - the only son of a rich South Dublin banker - is piecing together the shattered remains of his life. Abruptly cut off, at the age of 27, from a life of heedless privilege, Ben flounders through a world of drugs and dead-end jobs, his self-esteem at rock bottom. Even his once-adoring girlfriend, Clio, is at the end of her tether. Then Ben runs into an old school friend who wants to cut him in on a scam.

Lia Weaver went against everything she’d ever known when she risked her life to help a Farther fugitive named Gabe escape from the Aeralian soldiers, and her life changed forever. And the Frost changed, too—the Farthers have taken over her village, a new group of vigilantes calling themselves the Blackcoats are making plans to overthrow the Farther occupiers, and the Thorns are seeking for her to join them.

Joining the Seven is not what Yua always imagined. They are the most powerful sorceresses in the world, but Yua still doesn’t have any magic, she still can’t control the Mist demon in her blackened veins, she’s barely controlling her thirst for blood, and she’s definitely not a sorceress or powerful. She’s nothing but a curiosity that fascinates the Seven, offered this position so they can better study her. When another Blood Wisp arrives at the coven, newly turned and terrified, Yua needs to push herself further still.

“Eyes to the horizon” were the last words the king spoke to his wife before the abrogator channeled dark power and murdered them both. Their deaths activated an enchantment that concealed their two sons’ identity and allowed the king’s brother, Kaellor, to escape from Aarindorn with the heirs to the Southlands.

Thirteen-year-old Maya Chen thinks her strange, vivid dreams are just imagination—until she discovers they’re real. Every night she enters Shadowmere, a hidden realm divided into four elemental kingdoms: Pyrevale of fire, Stormvale of lightning, Tidevale of water, and Stonevale of living earth. Here, teenagers awaken to their true power—only to have it erased forever when they turn eighteen.

Fueled by the tiny scatterings of a puzzle left behind, Caitlin journeys into the wilds to seek the elusive Helena in order to find the cure for the Madness and stop its spread once and for all. Which is made all the more important when those closest to her are facing their toughest battles yet. With Jaxon, Kain, and Mary-Anne by her side, Caitlin must tread farther from home than she’s ever been, risking capture, torment, and the Mad, all in the name of finding the truth behind the Madness.

Alicia Erian's characters are brave, disarming, affectionate, and deeply flawed. They inhabit the not-so-very-wide space between a good intention and a bad outcome. The Brutal Language of Love challenges traditional notions of right and wrong with what has become Erian's signature—an achingly stylish humor and a deep understanding of the brutal truth about human nature. These surprising, provocative, and deeply resonant stories marked the emergence of a major talent.

Stuck spending the summer with his screwed-up family, Gabriel Walker is bored out of his mind and looking for an adventure. And he seems to find it with the hot girl who lives next door. The attraction between them is instant and electric. Soon they're spending every stolen minute together. Talk about the perfect summer fling.

Julie now knows Marcus’s secret. Her personal life is a disaster and Marcus is missing. He needs to confront his past with the fear it might change him for the worst. Can Julie forgive Marcus in time to save him from himself?

The war for the shards is intensifying. The glimmer of hope for a unified Naeisus seems all but extinguished. From the darkest corners of the world, a shadowy figure appears, harboring tide-turning knowledge and an inhuman power. As the tremors plaguing the land grow stronger, the King's scout party returns, battered and barely intact, with dire news directly from the source. Meanwhile, the Marusi election threatens to throw the race into the raging fires of battle unprepared, and the rift between the Wolven packs leaves them vulnerable and disorganized.

Darkness reaches forth its taloned hands, and the shadows dance and caper in anticipation of the long night to come. A night that, should it have its way, will destroy the light and those who serve it and will leave nothing but the cold, empty darkness in which the nightlings roam and feast.

Flora has spent her entire life hiding in the trees and ignoring the cursed, poisonous larkspur growing from her ankle and eating away at her life. She lets her anxiety and fear control her, but fate forces her hand when her adopted mother is kidnapped by a cruel witch. The only way to save her is to find the magic shards of her family’s amulet scattered throughout her land. With no time to waste, Flora sets out with her best friend, and along the way they meet a darkly intriguing stranger. But Flora is running out of time and can’t succumb to distractions.

Calidan Darkheart has survived monsters, men and the first years of the Academy, but will he be able to survive a higher power than his own? As a young student at the Academy and freshly dealing with the loss of a dear friend, Calidan must endure a new trial, one that will test every fiber of his being. Alone in the dark, Calidan the Imperator has so far managed to avoid the clutches of a rampaging beast, but now seeks to escape and fulfill his lifelong dream. Intent on saving his best friend Cassius and heading deeper into the wastelands, he seeks a prey that will eclipse all others.

Brace yourself for the second installment of the Da’Valia Trilogy. Neva’s adventure picks up after Born at Dawn with our favorite teen thief trying to revive her Lynx identity, but she’ll get far more than she bargained for with her next job. Eighteen-year-old thief Neva Roberts has been living on the run since absconding with the Eye, a powerful piece of the greatest weapon ever created. But she's running from more than just the Da'Voda clan's cold-hearted ruler. She has exiled herself to a barren land, alone and far from everyone she loves, trying to forget the pain she caused.