Sword Fantasy

The When Swords Fall Silent anthology showcases the imaginations and talents of more than a dozen of the best modern science-fiction and fantasy authors, with each tale centered around one or more characters burdened with a bloody task they will see to completion no matter the cost. Every story takes you for a vicious ride through a world of shadow and death, each as unique in perspective and execution as the contracts carried out within.

This is the story of Corlath, golden-eyed king of the Free Hillfolk, son of the sons of the Lady Aerin. And this is the story of Harry Crewe, the Homelander orphan girl who became Harimand-sol, King’s Raider, and heir to the Blue Sword, Gonturan, that no woman had wielded since Lady Aerin herself bore it into battle. And this is the song of the kelar of the Hillfolk, the magic of the blood, the weaver of destinies …

Rhett Allen is the thirdborn son of a minor lord trying to figure out his life after university. When a sudden family catastrophe throws his plans into chaos, he must make a decision. Should he do what people expect him to do or chart his own course? With all the gold to his name, he sets off into a chaotic world of dangerous creatures, even more dangerous humans, and other situations that no thirdborn should face alone. Thankfully, he meets a few good women along the way.

Asher Merrick never thought a night out with his college friend would cost him his life. Gathos, God of the Lost, has granted him an opportunity—a second chance he doesn't intend to waste. Thrust into a magical world of dragons and danger, swords and sorcery, might and magic, Asher Merrick is ready to prove himself. He's ready to prove that the extraordinary power he received will unlock his potential and help his powerful and beautiful new allies. Will this power be enough to help him and his new companions solve the mystery in Naled's underbelly?

Seventeen years after her rebirth into a magical medieval world, Everly Vae Balsar, the Empress, has made it. With her exceptionally potent earth magic and powers of spiritual manipulation, she stands poised to conquer a kingdom that lives in fear of her and her dangerous servants: Carter the goblin assassin, the marauding General Grail, and her elementals, the sadistic Eris and ditzy Titania. She's a villain and proud of it.

In the small village of Berring, Calder runs the Broken Mug tavern. He was a gifted swordsman and would have been a war hero if only his side had won. His injured leg tells him his days of fighting are over. When a dark portal opens in his village’s main square and orcs stream through it, slaughtering his neighbors and setting everything on fire, it brings with it a second chance. A soldier of light appears and grants Calder a weapon stone so he can help fight against the forces of darkness.

As time marches on, relics of the past are cast away and the people of Japan turn their attention to the marvels of modern technology. In year eleven of the Taisho era, Akitsu Somegorou the Fourth visits Tokyo to partake in a party hosted by the Nagumo, a famous spirit-hunting family. Like Akitsu, the Nagumo family slay demons for a living, but with the fear of demons slowly fading from the hearts of man, they've joined hands with their foes in a bid for survival.

For generations, a shrine has stood in the mountain village of Kadono, and for each generation the shrine has had an Itsukihime--its shrine maiden--and the maiden has had her guardian. During the Edo period, a young man named Jinta protects the town and the Itsukihime. When he confronts a strange demon in the nearby forest, it tells him that in the distant future a Demon God will threaten all people, everywhere, and it claims that the Demon God's rise to power springs from this very time and place, in the village of Kadono.

The first audiobook in this thrilling new series introduces us to a young slave who dreams of becoming a jouster - one of the few warriors who can actually ride a flying dragon. And so, in secret, he begins to raise his own dragon....

A thousand-year-old cultivator, Drew, is about to ascend to a higher existence. As he begins the process, he finds out he has pissed off one too many demigods. Though he manages to fight off the concerted effort of sect elders and patriarchs...he is slapped away from the higher realms by something. After an instant or an eternity, he awakens on a lower realm! The air is filled with garbage energy, and his emotions of all things are allowing him to control it. For a cultivator that has spent his existence absolutely controlling his thoughts...that won’t do at all.

What begins as a simple escort mission for a royal ally, Cara Alessia, hurtles Sam and her eccentric crew deep into uncharted space, where alien megastructures, strange factions, and dangerous curiosities lurk behind every glowing gate. From negotiating with tentacled truth-finders to dodging the deadly egos of imperial politics, Sam must balance diplomacy with her knack for blowing things up… preferably not in the same conversation.

This is it, the day I take over my father’s adventuring shop! Set at the base of Gianskarl mountain, where lies a vast and mysterious dungeon, this is the perfect spot. Many adventurers come to try their hand at the Karl in the hopes of hitting it big. And it’s up to me now to sell them the equipment they’ll need to face the dangers that await them. But where my father was content selling trinkets for a pittance, I want to turn this modest shop into the industry leader.

Jack wants nothing more than to be a mage. He trains by himself every day, cultivating mana and focusing on building his internal magic. All with the hope of one day joining a mage guild. Except one day, Jack encounters a strange object in the forest. It is the heart of a dungeon. Somehow, he absorbs the dungeon's heart into his body. Before he knows what to do, he encounters a peculiar man by the name of Lachlan Woe. He is a mage of great power, he says, and he is in need of an apprentice.

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.

These aren’t the kind of people you find looking through the want ads: Otto the wand-carrying wizard, Zac the giant werewolf, and Anastasia a five foot, hundred pound menace to society. They don’t know each other, but they must come together to save humanity because there’s an ancient secret buried in the Earth’s past and it’s about to bite the planet in the butt.

A kingdom in danger, a great betrayal, a boy seeking to redeem his father's honor. Will he succeed in exonerating him and saving the realm from an enemy in the shadows before it’s too late?

The end of the centuries-long war is almost here, and the fate of the realm rests on one girl’s shoulders. The Gray has gathered his forces - and has Lyric in his clutches. The enemy’s plan to control the kingdoms has been revealed, but traitors from both sides might alter the course of fate. Lyric must return to Easton and the others before all is lost. Battle lines must be forged, and surprising alliances cast. The prophecy has never altered, and life comes at an ultimate price.

Onna Gebowa is determined to become a great wizard. She can write the parameters of a spell faster than any of the young men in her village school. But despite her incredible abilities, she’s denied a place at the nation’s premier arcane academy. Undaunted, she sails to the bustling city-state of Hexos, hoping to find a place at a university where they don’t think there’s anything untoward about providing a woman with a magical education.

Enter the world of Metamorphosis Online, a fully immersive video game where players compete for spots in the Global Top 10 - ranks that actually pay you to play the game. Gracie doesn't play the game to make money...at first. Broke, single, and working a crappy job as a blackjack dealer, Gracie's just blowing off steam and having fun. Can playing a new type of immersive game help her overcome real-life issues, or will it cause more problems?

Rezkin lives—a secret known only to a chosen few. Now, Azeria is one of them. Joining forces, they avoid discovery while seeking the power to stand against Caydean's demons. A tale of ancient technology draws them to the land of a forgotten people. Can the secret treasure of the infamous Demon War help the rebels turn the tide?