Sword Fantasy

The day my mother was killed, she told my father I wouldn't speak again, and she told him if I died, he would die too. Then she predicted the king would sell his soul and lose his son to the sky. My father wants desperately to be king, and I just want to be free. But freedom will require escape, and I'm a prisoner of my mother's curse and my father's greed. In a land purged of enchantment, love might be the only magic left, and who could ever love...a bird?

The Sword of the Lictor is the third volume in Wolfe's remarkable epic, chronicling the odyssey of the wandering pilgrim called Severian, driven by a powerful and unfathomable destiny, as he carries out a dark mission far from his home.

Gene Wolfe's "The Book of the New Sun" is one of speculative fiction's most-honored series. In a 1998 poll, Locus Magazine rated the series behind only "The Lord of the Rings" and The Hobbit as the greatest fantasy work of all time.

Two-time Pulitzer Prize - winning historian Barbara Tuchman explores the complex relationship of Britain to Palestine that led to the founding of the modern Jewish state - and to many of the problems that plague the Middle East today.

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.

He was a champion of sword magic sworn to track the hounds of hoolies. Yet before Tiger waited perils far deadlier than any hounds - the Dragon's Lair. A magical novel of sword and spell from the author of Sword-Dancer and Sword-Singer.

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.

Meet Threadbare. He is 12 inches tall, full of fluff, and really, really bad at being a hero. Magically animated and discarded by his maker as a failed experiment, he is saved by a little girl. But she's got problems of her own, and he might not be able to help her. Fortunately for the little golem, he's quick to find allies, learn skills, gain levels, and survive horrible predicaments. Which is good, because his creator has a whole lot of enemies …

Raithe, the God Killer, may have started the rebellion by killing a Fhrey, but long-standing enmities dividing the Rhunes make it all but impossible to unite against the common foe. And even if the clans can join forces, how will they defeat an enemy whose magical prowess renders them indistinguishable from gods?

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.

The Black Company has retreated across the plain of glittering stone, toward a shadow gate that would let them trade the dangers of the plain for the questionable safety of the Company’s one-time haven in Hsien, a region in the world called the Land of Unknown Shadows.

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.

In the Domains, those born with magic have only one place where they can prove themselves worthy of it: the brutal pits of the arena, where they will either grow in power and build a following with every victory, or risk dishonor and death in defeat. For these “Gladiators”, the ultimate prize for their struggle is a place among the Chosen, the immortal rulers of that vast and decadent empire.

On the unforgiving streets of Karad, Veron grows up hungry, inexperienced, and stealing just to survive. After tragedy strikes, he is forced to decide what path his life will take. Opportunity arises when he discovers the last survivor of a secret organization called the Shadow Knights. Apprenticed to learn their ways, Veron begins to develop abilities he never dreamed he could have. Meanwhile, an enemy from across the mountains comes to destroy their kingdom’s way of life, and the Shadow Knights are the only ones able to stop him.

It is 200 years since the deity known as the Absolved went mad and destroyed the Kingdom of Alnachim, transforming it into the Execration, a blasted wasteland filled with nameless terrors. For decades, desperate souls have made pilgrimage to the centre of this cursed land to seek the Mad God’s favour, their fate always unknown. Now a veteran warrior known only as Pilgrim, armed with a fabled blade inhabited by the soul of a taunting demon, must join with six others to make the last journey to the heart of the Execration.

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.

"Three knives were buried up to their brass cross guards in the man's chest. Richard recognized the knife handles. All three were the style carried by the men of the First File. He looked from those blades that should have killed the big man, up to his face. That was when he realized the true horror of the situation, and the reason for the unbearable stench of death." Sequel to the #1 New York Times best seller The Omen Machine.

It is now year 16 of the Meiji era (1883 AD). 43 years have passed since Jinya left all he knew in Kadono and set off on a journey to grow stronger. In that time, he's forged a somewhat peaceful life for himself at Demon Soba with his daughter and friends. But if Jinya's many years have taught him anything, it's that nothing lasts forever—a lesson made all too clear as he once again crosses paths with Suzune, his sister who is determined to become the Demon God.

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.

Pentamuria, the world of five kingdoms, is in a time of change. The power of the nobles and mages is threatened. War is upon them, although they do not know yet when or with whom. Thus, the mages are gathering in their capital, Ringwall, to prepare together against any possible enemy. At this time, the orphan boy Nill is found by the Druids. He possesses considerable magical skills. So he is taken to Ringwall, where he is to be trained in the magical arts alongside his fellow students. Nill, an outsider, shows no respect for the traditions of the magical world.