Dark Ages Fiction

The battle between vicious spirits and strong-willed queens that started in The Queen of Blood and continued in the powerful The Reluctant Queen comes to a conclusion in The Queen of Sorrow, the final volume of the Queens of Renthia trilogy. Queen Daleina has yearned to bring peace and prosperity to her beloved forest home - a hope that seemed doomed when neighboring forces invaded Aratay. Now, Daleina believes that her dream of ushering in a new era can be realized, even in a land plagued by malevolent nature spirits who thirst for the end of human life.

Ireland, 1011 AD. The mortal kingdoms rise up against High King Brian Boru as they seek to wrest his crown from him. Yet the real struggle is between the two magical races of Ireland, the Fomorians and the Descendants, eternal enemies who both now seek dominion over the mortal world. Gormflaith, queen of King Brian, remains unmasked as the powerful Fomorian she is. Gormflaith plans to establish control over Ireland and destroy the Descendants in one fell swoop... but she cannot do it alone.

Rising from the gloom-shrouded cults of Ulgu, the empire of the Daughters of Khaine now dominates the Realm of Shadow. These matriarchal witch-aelves are graceful masters of death who revel in spilling blood, and whose opposition to Chaos borders on mania. Proud governors of their own ruthless agendas, it is their devotion to Khaine, the ancient aelven god of murder, the Daughters seek to prove above all—and alongside it, the favour of his high priestess, Morathi. To this end, a Khainite would bleed the realms dry in dedication to her cause.

The Saint of War spares the life of a servant girl so she can fulfill her destiny as the kingdom’s greatest warrior in this short story of love and loyalty by New York Times bestselling author Alix E. Harrow.

This book of interconnected stories depicts the chaotic life of a young boy on the run with his teenage mother. When Sarah reclaims Jeremiah from his foster parents, he finds himself catapulted into her world of motels and truck stops, exposed to the abusive, exploitative men she encounters. As he learns to survive in this harrowing environment, Jeremiah also learns to love his mother, even as she descends into drug-fueled madness.

The nomadic sled-city of Riika-Min glides endlessly along the icy tundra of Ghur, its denizens’ existence entwined with the rhythm of the realm. But something is disrupting the balance of the Realm of Beasts, and when a kraken suddenly attacks, Sigmar sends his master tracker, Yndrasta, the Celestial Spear, to hunt it down. In Riika-Min, Yndrasta meets Njda, trying to guide her people to safety. Njda is at once fearful and in awe of the golden-clad warrior from the sky, and soon learns how dangerous it can be to get between a hunter and her quarry.

I’m locked in a war that’s not of my making, and I’m tied to a destiny I have no say in. For someone like me, Brennan O’Donnelly represents something intangible - safety. A single promise unlocks options I didn’t dare dream of possessing.... A future. A family. He’s hard. He’s dangerous. He’s filthy. Yet, somehow, he’s exactly what I crave. Now I just need to make him see me for what I am - his queen. If he’ll have me...this is Brennan O'Donnelly's story.

The world has gone to hell and it isn't coming back. It happened in a year: starvation, gangs of kids with guns, and every adult in the world dead from the sickness. Houses are now mausoleums. Civilization lies in the hands of children who've never had to feed themselves or survive a winter without gas or electricity. Most will die. Others - a bare few - will tread a different path.

The Goddess rises up through the ashes of dead divinity to light a beacon for a world of ancient shadows. To conquer the reflections beyond, she must face the one that lies in the mirror. A cherished companion left in jeopardy, the Mystery Cult of the Goddess of Mirrors, Fate, Illusion, and Light has nonetheless grown and prospered, crushing its enemies and forging key alliances in two powerful cities. Faith Energy? Followers? Gold? It’s all rolling in. Her cup overflows. But to wake the one she cares for so dearly, she’d toss it all aside in an instant.

Long Chao is the son of a hedge mage — a heretic cultivator. He doesn’t cultivate for power, but to satisfy his endless curiosity. One fateful day, Xiao Huifen, a girl aiming to be the youngest Sky Realm cultivator in the Monolith continent’s history, crashes into his life. She’s from the world of top-ranked sects and strict cultivation methodologies. They share nothing in common except for the unquenchable desire to unlock heaven’s every mystery.

Dürfen wir vorstellen? Grace Bernard – liebende Tochter, beste Freundin und teuflisch gute Serienmörderin. Grace ist eine Serienmörderin und sie mordet aus gutem Grund. Grace rächt sich bei ihrer Familie. Dafür dass sie beiseitegeschoben wurde, weil sie unehelich ist. Dafür dass sie nicht reingepasst hat in die feine, reiche Familie ihres Vaters. Aber noch mehr rächt Grace ihre Mutter, die es nie verkraftet hat, zuerst mit allen Mitteln verführt und dann schäbig vergessen worden zu sein.

For Thelana Evenfall, Lumineth loreseeker and tutor at the Lyceum Fundamental in the city of Settler's Gain, the weapon is a footnote—the shadow of a rumour buried under mountains of long-forgotten lore. But when whispers of its whereabouts resurface, the vying factions within Hysh emerge to claim its power. From trusted allies to insidious cults, Thelana must navigate a treacherous landscape of clashing armies, political machinations and betrayals within betrayals, all in a desperate effort to defend the powerless from the all-powerful and to ask the unanswerable question:

High school is supposed to be about studying, socializing, and marching-band practice. Not fighting vampires. Then one night flipped my world inside out-now, my life sucks. But it isn't all bad. I'm at a slayer academy, learning things like the real origin of vamps and how to make serious weapons out of thin air. Every last one of them will pay for what they did. I'm doing great. Until I come face-to-face with the actual vampire prince.

Give your kids a fright! Haunted houses, prowling monsters, vengeful ghosts, and more are waiting for you. Inside you’ll find 35 original short scary stories for kids, including a room where everything is wrong and you can never leave, a forest guide who leads people on a walk they won’t forget, a monster dining in a graveyard, a ghost ship that hunts down treasure seekers, and a statue that comes to life—for a price. And many more! Just make sure you listen to these stories with the lights on.

Born the weakest runt of his Moonclan tribe, Zograt was only ever one beating away from a nasty end...until the Bad Moon bestowed upon him its blessing. Now the Clammy Hand of destiny is upon him and back-stabbing grots scurry to his cause, afraid of the vengeances their new boss will inflict with his powerful spells. For every underling he suffocates with noxious fungi, Zograt stages a magnanimous gesture, for he is all too aware of his fragile grip on power.

Paragons of the Stormcast Eternals, the Hammers of Sigmar take stern pride in their motto: first to be forged, never to fail. But when rumours reach Hammerhal of an old foe rising in the wastelands of the Great Parch, three of these warriors will be tested to their limits – and grapple with their roles as members of this warrior elite. Ferant Tidebreaker, a recently forged Liberator, struggles with his sense of unworthiness as he is assigned to the Hammerhands.

As people start to recall the Oracle's prophecy, Erius begins to quietly kill off his female relatives who pose the only threat to his monarchy. Constantly in fear for her life, Princess Ariani the King's sister, gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. But Ariani is married to Lord Rhius, the patron of the powerful wizard Iya, and Iya has sinister plans for the babes.

Kieran Murphy is an Irish mob boss and one of the most powerful men in Boston. When he walks me home, people step aside out of respect for him. He could have any woman he wants. So why does he have eyes only for me? Is it how he has to lift my chin with his fingers to keep my eyes level with his when he scolds me and how I cover my bottom instinctively when he tells me that I've earned a spanking? Or is it how I quiver at the thought of everything I'm too ashamed to beg him to do to me? Maybe it's all of those, but I'm pretty sure there's something else too.

A young girl discovers an infinite variety of worlds in this standalone tale in the Hugo and Nebula Award-wining Wayward Children series from Seanan McGuire, Lost in the Moment and Found.

Deep blue eyes with silver shards… watching me… always watching… Valentin Constanov doesn't take no for an answer. So, when I tell him to stop following me, it might as well be a direct challenge. It's his job to watch over the empire, after all. And I share a connection with his boss's wife—not that I want anything to do with the Russian mafia or their dark and twisted lifestyle. I've got my own problems to worry about. But the hot-tempered, ill-mannered, tattooed-covered Romeo isn't used to being rejected.