Dark Ages Literature

In this luminous essay, Thoreau calls us to reconsider how we view the past: not as a rigid ledger of facts, but as a shifting landscape of light and shadow. He asks us to read history “as little critically as we consider the landscape, and be more interested by the atmospheric tints…than by its groundwork and composition.”

Late one evening, en route to visit a relative, an accident leaves Tory - the attractive, twenty-something daughter of a prominent history professor – stranded near a ring of stones in Britain. Tory resolves to spend the night at the stone circle and seek help in the morning... But across the vortex of time and space, she is taken back to the Dark Age.

From the depths of despair to the pinnacle of power, Matt's ascension to Dungeon Lord has been a crucible of blood and terror. But the higher he climbs, the more precarious his perch becomes. As winter's fingers close around his hard-won domain, Matt and his beleaguered allies yearn for respite. Instead, they face a nightmare beyond imagining. The Coronaught infection sweeps through the land like wildfire, twisting human flesh into abominations that defy sanity. Grotesque mutations stalk the shadows, their hunger insatiable. In this maelstrom of horror, Matt must be more than a leader.

Michael, the Archangel himself, has returned after 150 years rejuvenating in the Etheric Dimension. Now, the most powerful male vampire the world had ever known is back.The problem? The world went through an apocalypse, and what little honor and justice that previously existed is gone. Further, his love has left to the stars somewhere, fighting for those on Earth. Now, Michael has to figure out where he is, where he needs to go, help those who need help, and figure out how to follow in his love's path.

Fox, JJ, Chase, and Maverick. The four names tattooed onto my heart more permanently than any of the ink on my skin. They don’t just live in this town anymore, they rule it. And the view here may be beautiful, but the sun, sea and sand hide dark secrets. The gangs. The lies. The violence. It all lurks beneath a veil so thin that once you’ve seen through it, you can never close your eyes to the truth again. But I don’t plan on closing my eyes. I have four devils set in my sights. And this dead girl no longer has anything to lose.

The Phoenicium, City of Rebirth, has been razed. From its ashes Blackpyre rises, its conqueror standing at the apex of her power. As a new era of strife dawns across the Realm of Life, Abraxia – the pitfighter who became Archaon's champion – must prove her mastery over the numerous conspiracies that would see her dark citadel destroyed and her downfall realised.

One, two, I'm coming for you. She's my obsession. Three, four, kneel on the floor. I want to possess her in every way. Five, six, I'm up to my old tricks. She knows me as The Portland Serial K!ll3r. Seven, eight, lay in wait. Little does she know I'm watching her. Nine, ten, never to be seen again. Welcome to your worst nightmare, Little Lamb. Who am I? Let me introduce myself. I'm Death. And I have found my Queen.

The rising wave of the undead has been stilled, the Lich Lord Daedalus defeated, and the dungeon is safe . . . for now. Now comes a time of growth, of calm and restructuring as the dungeon upgrades and the new alliances settle . . . but not all is peace and love. The gangs are rising, the asuras spread, and the dead never truly rest . . . The Age of Steel has begun.

Maleneth's return to the City of Echoes is not a happy one – Nightcliff has collapsed into violent, decadent debauchery. Khaine himself is usurped, and her precious coven lies in tatters. Accompanied by an ogor mercenary and a Kharadron anarchist, Maleneth sets out to avenge her sisters, but soon finds herself embroiled in a conspiracy, the ramifications of which threaten not just the city, but the Realm of Shadow itself. To stop it, she must ascend to the blood-soaked summit of Nightcliff’s Bladed Spire, and face an enemy of sky-cracking power before time itself slips out of reach.

Nyssa Volari is dying. But that is impossible, because she is a Soulblight vampire, blessed by Nagash with blood-fuelled immortality. More than that, Nyssa is a fighter – one of the handful of Kastelai vampires not dissolved into true death when the Crimson Keep abandoned them a century ago. With her blades and her will, she carved a kingdom out of the Broken Plains of Aqshy. These things matter little, for Nyssa's blood is cursed. It destroyed the vampire she called father, and as it threatens to do the same to her, Nyssa's allies abandon her one by one.

"There’s nothing there." The words may as well have been a death sentence to young Declan. Without mana, there could be no studying at the sky-piercing Pinnacle Towers, there could be no great monster hunts, and there could be no following in his father’s legendary footsteps. He’d be a cripple. But when a terrible accident forces him to flee, Declan learns the true nature of his mana. Just because it doesn’t resonate at any known frequency doesn’t mean it isn’t magic. Just because he can’t cast the same spells as everyone else doesn’t mean he isn’t a mage.

After ancient Rome fell to the barbarian hordes and its light went out, 500 years of economic and cultural deterioration followed in Europe - The Dark Ages. In the 14th century, the most brutal pandemic to ravage mankind finally pulled this part of the world out of the darkness. The Black Death decimated over 60 percent of the population, creating an immediate surplus of goods and land, which catapulted Europe into a new age of the rebirth: The Renaissance.

As people start to recall the Oracle's prophecy, Erius begins to quietly kill off his female relatives who pose the only threat to his monarchy. Constantly in fear for her life, Princess Ariani the King's sister, gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. But Ariani is married to Lord Rhius, the patron of the powerful wizard Iya, and Iya has sinister plans for the babes.

Born the weakest runt of his Moonclan tribe, Zograt was only ever one beating away from a nasty end...until the Bad Moon bestowed upon him its blessing. Now the Clammy Hand of destiny is upon him and back-stabbing grots scurry to his cause, afraid of the vengeances their new boss will inflict with his powerful spells. For every underling he suffocates with noxious fungi, Zograt stages a magnanimous gesture, for he is all too aware of his fragile grip on power.

This is the final book in the two-book duet. Book one must be heard first. One man thinks I'm a saint. The other thinks I'm a sinner. One man lives in the public eye. The other lurks in the shadows. One man wants to use me for his own needs. The other wants to use me for his revenge. One man will get what's coming to him. The other will get what he deserves. They told me good girls get rewarded. But I've been bad. Very bad. I made a deal with the Devil...and I liked it.

From the New York Times bestselling author of NOS4A2 and Horns comes this award-winning collection of short fiction. Imogene is young, beautiful . . . and dead, waiting in the Rosebud Theater one afternoon in 1945. . . . Francis was human once, but now he's an eight-foot-tall locust, and...

On the alien, sunless planet they call Eden, the 532 members of the Family shelter beneath the light and warmth of the Forest’s lantern trees. Beyond the Forest lie the mountains of the Snowy Dark and a cold so bitter and a night so profound that no man has ever crossed it. The Oldest among...

Named a Best Book of the Year by NPR, The Guardian, The Observer, Financial Times, Daily Mail, The Independent, and the Chicago Public Library From the twice-Booker-nominated writer of Burntcoat, a bold and astonishing literary masterpiece that explores faith, connection, and our...

The nomadic sled-city of Riika-Min glides endlessly along the icy tundra of Ghur, its denizens’ existence entwined with the rhythm of the realm. But something is disrupting the balance of the Realm of Beasts, and when a kraken suddenly attacks, Sigmar sends his master tracker, Yndrasta, the Celestial Spear, to hunt it down. In Riika-Min, Yndrasta meets Njda, trying to guide her people to safety. Njda is at once fearful and in awe of the golden-clad warrior from the sky, and soon learns how dangerous it can be to get between a hunter and her quarry.

Cado Ezechiar is a wanderer who has outlived the memory of the age that made him. A Soulblight vampire who accepted the curse as his people and kingdom fell to Chaos, he now roams the Realm of Death and beyond seeking retribution and salvation for the ones he failed. Aided by the bound spirits of those he lost, Cado follows a path of revenge, hunting the servants of Chaos to slake his need for blood while seeking the Sorcerer of Change who destroyed his kingdom.