Epic Classics

A failed mage learns that just because he's not the chosen one it doesn't mean he can't be a hero in the third book of an exciting adventure fantasy series from Sebastien de Castell. Kellen's life as an outlaw spellslinger is about to get a lot worse. In Gitabria, a miraculous discovery draws spies from all over the continent willing to kill to get their hands on it. Swept up in the race for power, Kellen is forced to join the pursuit. But the invention holds a dark secret-one that could spark a war.

What starts with young Jim Hawkins meeting a beggar and ends in a climactic battle between him and one of the most infamous villains in literature — Long John Silver — has long been revered as the ultimate pirate adventure story. This non - dramatized classic will sweep you off to a world of sly and savvy seafarers as the young Hawkins navigates treachery, assassination and the ominous prophecy of the black spot in the greatest treasure hunt known to literature.

Japanese noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu wrote The Tale of Genji in the 11th century to entertain the other women in the court. It follows the romantic exploits of the title character, an emperor’s son, as he navigates life within aristocratic society and eventually outside of it. Praised for its psychological insight into the characters’ motivations, the book greatly influenced Japanese culture and is widely considered the world’s first novel. In 1882, Suematsu Kencho translated a condensed version of the text into English, allowing this classic tale to reach a wider audience.

Wallie Smith can feel the pain. He goes to the hospital, remembers the doctors and the commotion, but when he wakes up it all seems like a dream. However, if that was a dream how do you explain waking up in another body and in another world? Little Wallie finds himself in the physique of a barbarian swordsman, accompanied by both an eccentric priest babbling about the Goddess and a voluptuous slave girl. Is this a rude awakening or a dream come true?

This book won a World Fantasy Award. It's remarkable: The stories are rich, fascinating stuff - creepy and unsettling and phantasmic. Imagine what Tolkien's Lord of the Rings would have been like if Tolkien had tried to tell that story sympathetically from the point of view of the human denizens of Mordor and you'll have the slightest sense of what you're about to wade into... but only just a sense.

Enter the fantastical world of Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast Trilogy, one of the undisputed fantasy classics of all time. Novelist C.S. Lewis called Peake's books "actual additions to life; they give, like certain rare dreams, sensations we never had before, and enlarge our conception of the range of possible experience."

Jiri has always been special. Found as an infant in the ashes of her village, she was taken in by neighbors and trained to be a powerful jungle druid. Yet when Aspis Consortium mercenaries release an ancient evil that burns her adopted home to the ground, Jiri must gather a group of her own in order to get revenge and drive the mercantile foreigners from her land before they cause further damage. For in the heart of the Mwangi Jungle, sometimes the secrets of the past are best left buried.

Kaerion Whitehart was once a mighty paladin, but sins of the past have cast him far from the light. Together with an elf mercenary, he now survives by the might of his sword alone. In exchange for a hefty purse, the two friends agree to accompany a band of patriots into a tomb haunted by fear and legend. They soon find the mission growing beyond their control. As warring factions vie for the ultimate prize of a long-dead wizard, Kaerion finds himself caught between death and redemption.

Deep in the labyrinthine corridors of Gormenghast Castle, a child is born. Titus, 77th Earl of Groan, is heir to arcane and all-embracing rituals that determine the activities of everyone from Lord Sepulchrave, his father, to the vast cook, Swelter, and the irrepressible Dr Prunesquallor. But not the steely and devious Steerpike, who will lie, cheat and even murder to get on. One of the greatest feats of sustained imaginative writing, the world of Gormenghast Castle is brilliantly realised in this darkly fantastic novel.

In a world where wizards are relegated to ghettos, it is no surprise to see one murdered in the street. But for Stonne Caris, a young warrior monk who sees the killing and gives chase to the culprit, there is nothing ordinary about seeing a murderer disappear into a black, inky portal. The Archmage sends him in search of Antryg Windrose - a half-mad mage who understands the nature of these passages between dimensions.

"Витязь в тигровой шкуре" - эпическая поэма грузинского поэта Шота Руставели, написанная в XII веке.

Homer is one of the most important figures in ancient Greek literature, believed to have lived in the 8th century BC. He is most famous for his epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey, which are considered to be the founding works of Western literature. The Iliad tells the story of the Trojan War, focusing on the hero Achilles, while the Odyssey recounts the adventures of the Greek hero Odysseus as he attempts to return home after the war. Both works are celebrated for their vivid storytelling, complex characters, and profound exploration of human nature.

Drew Michalik was working in a top-secret facility in Washington, DC, when the Advent began. As all electronics in the world simply ceased to work, blue screens filled with information appeared before him. Drew was given access to a mana interface and a limited number of reality-altering crystals called Xatherite. Following the instructions on his vision-impairing screens, he "slotted" his Xatherite and changed his fate: He gained the ability to cast spells. Now alone in the dark, he must battle through the government bunker turned dungeon in a desperate bid for survival.

The invitation is signed "Jaenelle Angelline," and it summons her family to a special soirée. But when her guests enter the house, they find themselves trapped in a living nightmare created by the Black Widow witches - and if they try to use Craft as protection, they risk being sealed in the house forever. But Jaenelle did not send the invitation. And now she and the rest of her family must rescue the others inside - and then find out who has created such a place, and why....

In the grim nation of Nidal, carefully chosen children are trained to practice dark magic, summoning forth creatures of horror and shadow. Isiem is one such student, a promising young shadowcaster whose powers are the envy of his peers. Upon coming of age, he's dispatched on a mission of genocide against the winged humanoids of Devii's Perch. Yet as the body count rises and Isiem comes face to face with the people he's exterminating, lines begin to blur, and the shadowcaster must ask himself who the real monsters are....

He's insisting he's a Tide Lord and he's begging us to try again...to kill him, that is. When a routine hanging goes wrong, the survivor announces he is Cayal the immortal Prince, a Tide Lord. However, the only known record of the immortal beings of Amyrantha is the Tide Lord Tarot...and everyone knows it is only a parlour-game, an amusement. Arkady Desean, an expert on the legends of the Crasii - a part-animal, part-human race - is sent to interrogate Cayal.

The hard-won battles fought in Imager's Battalion have earned Quaeryt a promotion to commander, as well as an assignment to convince the Pharsi High Council in the nation of Khel to submit to Lord Bhayar's rule, which is key to Bhayar's ambition to unite all of Solidar. Joined by his pregnant wife, Vaelora, who is also Bhayar's sister, Quaeryt leads an army and a handful of imagers deeper into the hostile lands once held by the tyrannical Rex Kharst.

Pizza, coffee, and a library full of unplayed games. That's the plan, or at least it was supposed to be. Instead, an average gamer finds himself seemingly transported into the world of his favorite game. While some might appreciate that, it's quickly apparent that he isn't in some sort of virtual reality experiment, all of his downloaded mods are active, and the world is likely set to its highest difficulty with permadeath enabled.

Sky Realms Online is the largest and most popular Virtual Reality MMORPG ever made. Set amongst the mystical, floating islands of Hankarth, it's played and enjoyed by millions every hour. Until something goes wrong. Unable to log out, players find themselves reduced to level one, and in the starting zones. They receive a cryptic message from the developers stating that for unknown reasons, they are trapped in the game and may have to live out their lives within the virtual world.

Returning to Terre d'Ange, Moirin finds the royal family broken. Wracked by unrelenting grief at the loss of his wife, Queen Jehanne, King Daniel is unable to rule. Prince Thierry, leading an expedition to explore the deadly jungles of Terra Nova, is halfway across the world. And three-year-old Desiree is a vision of her mother: tempestuous, intelligent, and fiery, but desperately lonely and a vulnerable pawn in a game of shifting political allegiances. As tensions mount, King Daniel asks that Moirin become Desirée's oath-sworn protector.