Fiction Swords

During the test flight of a prototype faster-than-light craft, Lt. Commander Ky is flung into an ancient past that never existed. Rome has fallen, defeated by the mighty Carthaginian Empire, its survivors chased off the continent and onto what had been the remote province of Britannia. Hounded by the Carthaginians bent on conquering the known world, Rome is on the verge of destruction. Stranded and alone, except for a tactical AI implanted in his head, Ky has lost everything and must find a way to live in a world different than anything he's ever known.

1368. War is coming between France and Spain, and England, and in Italy the pope and the Visconti princes are battling for bloody supremacy. The worst years of Sir William Gold's life are about to begin. Leaving the side of his commander, Sir John Hawkwood, William embarks on a journey to serve the Count of Savoy, finding fame and favour in his service. But when his wife and children are struck down by the plague, William uses the poisoning of the Duke of Clarence as an excuse to escape on a witch hunt across Southern France and embark on a pilgrimage that he'd always pledged to do.

Kicked out by his family and wandering the streets, an unemployed 34-year-old shut-in thinks he’s hit rock-bottom—just as he’s hit and killed by a speeding truck! Awakening to find himself reborn as an infant in a world of swords and sorcery, but with the memories of his first life intact, Rudeus Greyrat is determined not to repeat his past mistakes. He’s going to make the most of this reincarnation as he sets off on the adventure of a second lifetime!

Mankind has lorded over the land of Illian for a thousand years, building on the ruins left by the elves, as if it were their birthright. A thousand years is a long time for an immortal race to see the truth of things, a truth that has remained unsaid for a millennium - elves are superior. They are faster, stronger, and connected to the magical realm in a way that man could never grasp. Illian should belong to them.

It is the late summer of 1814, and Hannah Bonner and her half brother Luke have spent more than a year searching the islands of the Caribbean for Luke's wife and the man who abducted her. But Jennet's rescue, so long in coming, is not the resolution they'd hoped for. In the spring she had given birth to Luke's son, and in the summer Jennet had found herself compelled to surrender the infant to a stranger in the hope of keeping him safe.

In The Book of Swords, acclaimed editor and best-selling author Gardner Dozois presents an all-new anthology of original epic tales by a stellar cast of award-winning modern masters - many of them set in their authors' best-loved worlds. Join today's finest tellers of fantastic tales, including George R. R. Martin, K. J. Parker, Robin Hobb, Scott Lynch, Ken Liu, C. J. Cherryh, Daniel Abraham, Lavie Tidhar, Ellen Kushner, and more on action-packed journeys into the outer realms of dark enchantment and intrepid derring-do.

When Tea accidentally resurrects her brother from the dead, she learns she is different from the other witches in her family. Her gift for necromancy means that she's a bone witch, a title that makes her feared and ostracized by her community. But Tea finds solace and guidance with an older, wiser bone witch, who takes Tea and her brother to another land for training.

We know the legends: Arthur brought justice to a land that had known only cruelty and force; his father, Uther, carved a kingdom out of the chaos of the fallen Roman Empire; the sword Excalibur, drawn from stone by England's greatest king. But legends do not tell the whole tale. Legends do not tell of the despairing Roman soldiers, abandoned by their empire, faced with the choice of fleeing back to Rome, or struggling to create a last stronghold against the barbarian onslaughts from the north and east.

It's 1877, and both the Meiji era and Jinya's daughter, Nomari, are coming into adolescence—and all the growing pains that entails. Meanwhile, Somegorou brings Jinya a rumor of a nightly procession of demons parading the streets of Kyoto, and it seems that they are being led by the chain-manipulating demon that gave Jinya and Kaneomi so much grief in the past. To make a bad situation worse, Magatsume, the harbinger of calamity, has something in store for them as well...

Arthur lives with his father, a fallen but proud former noble, in Border Village #49, along with the other good folks condemned to toil in service to the Baron. But Arthur has an edge: a stolen heart card that secretly fell into his possession, thanks to a dragon. It’s a priceless source of power for the Baron and the tyrant will kill to get it back. Invaluable, too, to a young man of spellcasting ambitions.

Teacher and Fran arrive at the Beastman Nation to find the fabled Black Cat who trained Rigdith, but their quest is interrupted by a run-in with some monsters! Fran easily dispatches them, but those monsters were being pursued by a strange, white-haired cat girl. She's outraged that Fran swiped her quarry, outraged enough to challenge Fran to a duel! Can Fran and Teacher resolve this without bloodshed, or is the fur about to fly?

Sir Torin Cadwell, Knight-Captain of the Watch and the tyrant king’s illegitimate son, has spent his life torn between loyalty to his father and the pull of destiny. For generations, his bloodline has been cursed by a bitter feud with Kyhrax, the Flame of Zarag-Gul - the most feared dragon in Westskyr. The city of Dun Morlaig survives only because of the Breath - a magical barrier fueled by the crystallized heart of Astreya, the Great Mother dragon. Once a benevolent guardian, Astreya was slain by Torin’s ancestor, leaving Kyhrax consumed by grief and burning for revenge.

When Soren is plucked from the streets and given a place at the prestigious academy of swordsmanship, he thinks his dream of being a great swordsman has become a possibility. However, with great intrigues unfolding all around him, Soren discovers that he is little more than a pawn to the ambitions of others.

The prophecy of the nameless god—the words that declared Malini the rightful empress of Parijatdvipa—has proven a blessing and curse. She is determined to claim the throne that fate offered her. But even with the strength of the rage in her heart and the army of loyal men by her side, deposing her brother is going to be a brutal and bloody fight. The power of the deathless waters flows through Priya’s blood. Thrice born priestess, Elder of Ahiranya, Priya’s dream is to see her country rid of the rot that plagues it.

The Wizard's Council of Tarador was supposed to tell young Koren Bladewell that he is a wizard. They were supposed to tell everyone that he is not a jinx, that all the bad things that happen around him are because he can't control the power inside him, power he doesn't know about. The people of his village, even his parents, are afraid of him, afraid he is cursed. That he is a dangerous, evil jinx.

After the War of the Gods, the demons were cast out and fell to the world. Mankind was nearly eradicated by the seemingly unstoppable beasts until the gods sent the great hero, Ramrowan, to save them. He united the tribes, gave them magic, and drove the demons into the sea. Ever since, the land has belonged to man, and the oceans have remained an uncrossable hell, leaving the continent of Lok isolated.

The ancient magic of wizards was anything but dark. It was the enlightenment that lifted humanity from the squalor of superstition, and the worship of fell spirits and capricious gods, but those days are gone. The shining glory of the sorcerers burned away the subtlety of wisdom, replacing it with easy power, held only in the hands of the elite - a new age built upon the elemental supremacy of aristocrats and the ignorance of the masses.

Keras Selyrian is already well on the way to cutting his name into the annals of legend. He’s fought false divinities, thieving sorcerers, and corrupt demigods - and left them defeated in his wake. But he’s a long way from home, and Kaldwyn offers a different brand of danger than he’s used to. He’s already got a sword of unfathomable power, but it’s damaged and leaking world-annihilating mana, so he’s in the market for a new one. Possibly six. The more the better, really.

Mare Barrow's blood is red - the color of common folk - but her Silver ability, the power to control lightning, has turned her into a weapon that the royal court tries to control. The crown calls her an impossibility, a fake, but as she makes her escape from Maven, the prince - the friend - who betrayed her, Mare uncovers something startling: She is not the only one of her kind.

With Mea arriving to provide backup, Fran continues to fend off the hordes advancing on the Black Cat village. But then the mastermind behind the assault reveals herself--Murelia, the woman known as the Lightning Empress, and the source of the Black Cats' curse! Can they defeat her before she infiltrates the Beastman Nation?