Epic Magic

Women belong in the kitchen - everyone knows that. Not in jobs, pubs or indeed trousers, and certainly not on the front line. Nonetheless, Polly Perks has to become a boy in a hurry if she wants to find her missing brother in the army. Cutting off her hair and wearing the trousers is easy. Learning to fart and belch in public and walk like an ape takes more time. There's a war on. There's always a war on, and Polly and her fellow raw recruits are suddenly in the thick of it. All they have on their side is the most artful sergeant in the army and a vampire with a lust for coffee.

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.

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.

Being a supernatural assassin and bounty hunter had its perks...until the Trust’s bloody assignments made me question everything. When I found my sister lying in a coma, I became a mercenary, killing vampires to pay her hospital bills and searching desperately for a cure. When my handler offers me a job that could clear my debts and give me answers about what really happened to Cat, I’m all in.

This is the story of Stavin Kel'Aniston. A boy trained as a warrior, he serves his people as a caravan guard to obtain gold for their community. Stavin earned dragon-scale armor from the dragon on the mountain for his bravery, but the gift of the dragon comes at a price. Thieves, brigands, and ne'er-do-wells of every kind are attracted to Stavin. As the summer passes, Stavin fights for his life and the honor of his name.

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.

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.

Nora knows she needs to move on. And forget about magic. She's back in graduate school, and her life is going surprisingly well. She doesn't need to think about other worlds, about enchantments and demons, or about magicians - even though she once aspired to become one herself. Most of all, she really should forget the magician Aruendiel, who shared the secrets of magic with her but fiercely guarded the deepest secrets of his heart. Then a chance encounter gives Nora the opportunity to slip between worlds again - and the next phase of her magical education begins.

Londons fall and kingdoms rise while darkness sweeps the Maresh Empire, and the fraught balance of magic blossoms into dangerous territory while heroes struggle. The direct sequel to A Gathering of Shadows and the final book in the Shades of Magic epic fantasy series, A Conjuring of Light sees the newly minted New York Times best-selling author V. E. Schwab reach a thrilling conclusion concerning the fate of beloved protagonists - and old foes.

For the first time as an Orbit special edition, Brent Weeks's blockbuster novella Perfect Shadow tells the origin story of the Night Angel trilogy's most enigmatic character: Durzo Blint. Gaelan Starfire is a farmer, happy to be a husband and a father; a careful, quiet, simple man. He's also an immortal, peerless in the arts of war. Over the centuries, he's worn many faces to hide his gift, but he is a man ill-fit for obscurity, and all too often he's become a hero, his very names passing into legend.

The adventuring industry drives the economy of Arth, a world much like our own but with more magic and fewer vowels. Monsters' hoards are claimed, bought by corporate interests, and sold off to plunder funds long before the Heroes' Guild actually kills the beasts. Of course, that's a terrible arrangement for the Shadowkin; orcs, goblins, kobolds, and their ilk must apply for to become Noncombatant Paper Carriers (or NPCs) to avoid being killed and looted by heroes.

Lukan Gardova is a cardsharp, academy dropout, and—thanks to a duel that ended badly—the disgraced heir to an ancient noble house. His days consist of cheap wine, rigged card games, and wondering how he might win back the life he threw away. When Lukan discovers that his estranged father has been murdered in strange circumstances, he finds fresh purpose. Deprived of his chance to make amends for his mistakes, he vows to unravel the mystery behind his father's death. His search for answers leads him to Saphrona, fabled city of merchant princes, where anything can be bought if one has the coin.

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 Shadowmen still swarm over the Four Lands, poisoning everything with their dark magic. And their leader is determined to destroy all the Scions of Shannara. For Walker Boh, he dispatches the Four Horsemen. For Wren, he sends an untrue friend. And for Par, he devises the most terrible fate of all. With these traps cleverly laid, the charges given by the shade of the Druid Allanon are doomed to failure - unless Par can discover a way to harness the power of the Sword of Shannara.

Hot on the heels of Gardner Dozois's acclaimed anthology The Book of Swords comes this companion volume devoted to magic. How could it be otherwise? For every Frodo, there is a Gandalf... and a Saruman. For every Dorothy, a Glinda... and a Wicked Witch of the West. What would Harry Potter be without Albus Dumbledore... and Severus Snape? Figures of wisdom and power, possessing arcane, often forbidden knowledge, wizards and sorcerers are shaped - or misshaped - by the potent magic they seek to wield.

The Empire's plans have come to fruition. Duran has fallen, and with it the other city-states of Nehatra. Only the dungeon town remains safe, but for how long? While the leadership struggle to deal with the crisis, the dungeon dwellers watch on. As Doc continues to unlock new slime evolutions, Rowen deepens his bond with Milly, and the two experience much together. When the final attack begins, will Rowen and Doc stand with the townspeople? Why has Doc been framed for murder? Who is the traitor lurking in the shadows?

Is Raistlin truly dead? The answer lies in the new Dragonlance novella by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, which gazes into the future of Caramon and his mage-son, and into the dark nether-past of Raistlin. Tales of sea monsters, dark elves, ice bears, hideous hydra-headed serpents, and loathsome draconian troops.

Further adventures of the kender Tas; the innkeepr Otic and young Tika; the dwarf Flint and Tanis, leader of the companions; Caramon and Raistlin, twin brothers, one, a genial warrior, the other, a sickly magician and scholar.

An ambitious archer. An anxious healer. A desperate thief. Isaac is Bestowed, chosen by Nature as a leader and protector, only he lives in Talen, far away from anyone to lead or protect. He yearns to join the heroic group of fighters who protect the world from untold dangers, the Paladins of Valoria. Forget sky-high qualifications and a will of iron—the biggest hurdle for Isaac’s dream is his protective father. Until Isaac finds himself rescuing a giant bear from an onslaught of enchanted arrows.

Nathan and his companions are free. For now. They're trapped inside the fortress-city of Halsmet, and every mage of Giantsrest is hunting for them. Luckily enough, they've been found by Faline, the shapeshifting leader of the Assassins of Gemore. She's pledged to teach Nathan her deadly trade. How far will he go to fight the empire of slavers? How much murder is justified? Even if they manage to win this fight against Giantsrest, it won't be the end of the conflict. A Questor from ages past lurks in the heart of the Ascendent Academy, and he won't allow Giantsrest to suffer a defeat.

To the north, Annise Gäric ventures into the Hinterlands to discover the truth of the Sleeping Knights, who may be the only hope for her kingdom. Meanwhile, Tarin Sheary travels to Darrin in a desperate bid to repel the eastern forces amassing at Crow's Nest. Unbeknownst to either of them, a new threat rises in Blackstone.