Epic Magic

Amidst the decaying splendor and poisonous intrigue of Chalion's ancient capital, Cazaril is forced to confront not only powerful enemies but also the malignant curse that clings to the royal household, trapping him, flesh and soul, in a maze of demonic paradox, damnation, and death for as long as he dares walk the five-fold pathway of the gods.

Two years after his parents' disappearance, Darian has sought refuge and training from the mysterious Hawkbrothers. Now he has opened his heart to a beautiful young healer. Finally Darian has found peace and acceptance in his life. That is, until he learns that his parents are still alive - and trapped behind enemy borders....

The Silver Empire is in ruins. War is in the wind. Kagen and his allies are on the run from the Witch-king. Wild magic is running rampant everywhere. Spies and secret cabals plot from the shadows of golden thrones. Kagen Vale is the most wanted man in the world, with a death sentence on his head and a reward for him—dead or alive—that would tempt a saint. The Witch-king has new allies who bring a terrible weapon—a cursed disease that drives people into a murderous rage. If the disease is allowed to spread, the whole of the West will tear itself apart.

Here are two bestselling novels which offer a great introduction to the Kings and Sorcerers series. Kings and Sorcerers tells the epic coming of age story of Kyra, 15, who dreams of becoming a famed warrior, like her father, though she is the only girl in a fort of boys. She struggles to understand her special skills and mysterious inner power, and comes to realize she is different than the others.

Augum, Bridget, and Leera are the first to summon dragons in thousands of years. But the ancient spell inflicts an unforeseen side effect - after every casting, it turns them against each other. As the Canterran army plunders their kingdom, Katrina Von Edgeworth uses her siege engine dragon to crush all resistance. The trio, fledglings at fighting in the air, soon find themselves outmatched. Now everything hangs by a thread, and Augum, Bridget, and Leera must somehow carve a path to victory - without gouging each other's eyes out.

With High Prince Pol's wife Meiglan held prisoner by the Warlord of the enemy, and Skybowl Keep purposefully abandoned to this deadly foe, Pol's mother Sioned leads a daring mission into the castle, using all her years of experience as High Princess in a cunning attempt to strike at the heart of the invasion force. And even as Sioned carries out this perilous plan, Pol and his cousin Andry, Lord of the Sunrunners of Goddess Keep, are forced into an uneasy alliance.

The Legend of Beka Cooper gives Tamora Pierce's fans exactly what they want - a smart and savvy heroine making a name for herself on the mean streets of Tortall's Lower City - while offering plenty of appeal for new readers as well. From the Hardcover edition.

The world's fate rests on the shoulders of one half-blood dragon. Taken by the infamous Red Dragon, Rowen now finds herself without hope, a plan for escape, or her memory. Ancient secrets are revealed during her captivity, and a strange black dragon risks his life to save her. When he finds himself injured and also kept in the Red Dragon's lair, the two of them must find a way to survive. Captain Elian Westin and what remains of his crew make the journey to Withrae, where a war is brewing. Dragons versus humans. Which side will they choose?

In this sequel to A Plague of Giants, these characters and more will become the voices of a new generation. Daryck is from a city devastated by the war with the Bone Giants, and now he and a band of warriors seek revenge against the giants for the loved ones they’ve lost. But will vengeance be enough to salve their grief? Hanima is part of a new generation with extraordinary magical talents: She can speak to fantastical animals. But when her gift becomes a threat to the powers-that-be, Hanima becomes the leader of a movement to use magic to bring power to the people.

Sviska is a man of the shadows, an assassin without any one place to call his own. But in the Far North, he discovers a secret. Magic, long thought lost to the world, is alive. The genocide to destroy every elf, wizard, and sacred being of old is not yet complete. Sviska's masters work the strings of the world and he has been sent for a task he does not even fully understand yet. When at last he feels he has what he has always wanted, darkness falls upon the world.

Lin Sukai has won her first victory as Emperor, but the future of the Phoenix Empire hangs in the balance—and Lin is dangerously short of allies. As her own governors plot treason, the Shardless Few renew hostilities. Worse still, Lin discovers her old nemesis Nisong has joined forces with the rogue Alanga, Ragan. Both seek her death. Yet hopes lies in history. Legend tells of seven mythic swords, forged in centuries past. If Lin can find them before her enemies, she may yet be able to turn the tide. If she fails, the Sukai dynasty—and the entire empire—will fall.

The Shadowhawk has been unmasked to those he trusts most. Montagn, the most powerful empire in the world, prepares for invasion. And back in the tangled alleys and dark streets of Dock City, Vengeance lurks.

Dara Ruminor is a serious young duelist in the mountaintop kingdom of Vertigon, a land of dramatic cliffs and misty peaks where mysterious Fire magic runs through the stones like blood. The secluded kingdom has been peaceful for 100 years. Swords are used for sport, and successful athletes live like kings as long as the crowds love them. Eighteen-year-old Dara needs to find a wealthy patron in order to duel professionally and avoid a lifetime working in her parents' Fire Lantern shop.

Touraine is a soldier. Stolen as a child and raised to kill and die for the empire, her only loyalty is to her fellow conscripts. But now, her company has been sent back to her homeland to stop a rebellion, and the ties of blood may be stronger than she thought. Luca needs a turncoat. Someone desperate enough to tiptoe the bayonet's edge between treason and orders. Someone who can sway the rebels toward peace, while Luca focuses on what really matters: getting her uncle off her throne.

The Kaiser murdered Theodosia's mother, the Fire Queen, when Theo was only six. He took Theo's country and kept her prisoner, crowning her Ash Princess—a pet to toy with and humiliate for 10 long years. That era has ended. The Kaiser thought his prisoner weak and defenseless. He didn't realize that a sharp mind is the deadliest weapon. Theo no longer wears a crown of ashes. She has taken back her rightful title, and a hostage—Prinz Soren. But her people remain enslaved under the Kaiser's rule, and now she is thousands of miles away from them and her throne.

Fiona Farrow is ignoring her destiny. She has no interest in guarding the Sacred Scrolls from the evil Shadow Order; not after the same job took her parents away. But when a powerful demon mage from the Shadow Order steals one of the Sacred Scrolls and starts hunting down Protectors of Light, Fiona will have to put on her magical suit of armor and face her fears. If she doesn't, the Shadow Order will destroy humanity and banish Fiona to an obscure dimension for the rest of her nightmarish eternity.

The mysterious, magic-wielding Druid order has existed for long ages, battling any evil that threatens the Four Lands - and struggling to be understood and accepted by outsiders. But their hopes of building goodwill are dashed when a demon’s murderous rampage at a peace summit leaves their political opponents dead - casting new suspicions upon the Druids and forcing them to flee from enemies both mortal and monstrous.

While on holiday in 1925, four-year-old Michael Tolkien lost his beloved toy dog on the beach at Filey in Yorkshire. To console him, his father, J.R.R. Tolkien, improvised a story about Rover, a real dog who is magically transformed into a toy and is forced to seek out the wizard who wronged him in order to be returned to normal. This charming tale, peopled by a sand-sorcerer and a terrible dragon, by the king of the sea and the Man-in-the-Moon, went through several drafts over the years.

Andry, the new Sunrunner Lord of Goddess Keep, must master potentially deadly magical knowledge before he can confront the ancient foe who nearly destroyed the Sunrunners ages ago. But the enemy is mobilizing to strike again, drawing on forbidden lore to play an ever-shifting game of treachery and betrayal.

Destina Rosethorn—as her name implies—believes herself to be a favored child of destiny. But when her father dies in the War of the Lance, she watches her carefully constructed world come crashing down. She loses not only her beloved father but also the legacy he has left her: the family lands and castle. To save her father, she hatches a bold plan—to go back in time and prevent his death.