Epic Sorcery

Ruwen wants nothing more than to relax in the Third Secret and recover from the terrible damage to his core. Escaping the ambush in the Infernal Realm had come at a steep cost—one that means no Spirit use until he heals. Unfortunately, rest is one more thing that needs to wait, because the Bamboo Viper Master’s trial started days ago, and not participating results in the purging of his Step knowledge. Not something he wants to risk.

Turned from the path of the assassin, Asher roams the world no better than a nomad, with naught to offer but his sword and grit. But woe betide the monster that believes his sword and grit will not be enough. In a twisted chance of fate, the brash actions of Doran Heavybelly—a dwarven hunter with a lot to say—forces Asher back into the world of man. And so the ranger is brought into the light, into the gaze of Illian’s greatest crime guilds and onto the lawless island of Dragorn.

Just as Ayrion’s priorities are involuntarily split between the Elondrian Lancers and his tribe, Noph - the notably cunning chief of Sandstorm - calls for a secret meeting between himself and Hurricane. The outcome of that meeting forces Ayrion, Reevie, and Sapphire to make a decision that will not only affect their role within the tribes but will test the true strength of their friendship.

Siobhan has just been banned from the country's only magical university. As the unwitting accomplice to the theft of a priceless magical artifact, she has suddenly become a wanted criminal. There are fates worse than death, and if caught, she will face them. Unwilling to give up on her dream of becoming the world's most powerful sorcerer, she resolves to do whatever it takes to change her fate. Even if it means magically disguising herself as a boy and indebting herself to a gang of criminals to pay for university tuition.

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.

The battlefield realm: a realm where sects rise and fall. Where the ground trembles under the feet of fighters from the higher realms. Where riches are gained and empires lost. This is where Erik and Rugrat must go, if they want to increase their strength and the strength of Alva. They say that fortune favors the bold. This is the ten realms. To the victor go the spoils. The fourth realm will change their lives...or end them.

Even though Captain Trip always knew he was a little odd, he’s still shocked by the revelation that the elder gold dragon, Agarrenon Shivar, sired him. It’s time, however, to accept reality and learn to use his power, even if it alienates him from his magic-fearing friends - and the woman he’s come to care about. With enemy dragons threatening to kill or enslave everyone in his homeland, he has no choice.

In Darujhistan, the city of blue blue fire, it is said that Love and Death shall arrive dancing. It is summer, and the heat is oppressive, but for the small, rotund man in the faded red waistcoat discomfiture is not just because of the sun. All is not well. Dire portents plague his nights and haunt the city streets like fiends of shadow. Assassins skulk in alleyways, but the quarry has turned, and the hunters become the hunted. Hidden hands pluck the strings of tyranny like a fell chorus.

Thrown into a world far away from his own city, Li Wei has no choice but to take help getting back to Five Firmament City from whomever he can find. And with his body cultivation sealed, he has more obstacles than before. Can he find a way back home, or will he waste valuable time before his body gives up? It’s Li Wei’s race against the clock, and he has to win. There is no other option.

In this third book in the thrilling and epic Book of the Ancestor trilogy from international best-selling author Mark Lawrence, powerful novice Nona Grey must fight to survive in "a fantastic world in which religion and politics are dark and sharp as swords, with magic and might held in the hands of wonderful and dangerous women".

Training at the Shelter, led by the Mother Specialist and tutored by the four Elder Specialists, is turning out to be more intense than any of them had expected. The proficiency test will determine their future, and they will have to prepare and practice harder then ever if they want to graduate with the highly valued elite specialties.

King Uthar has been defeated in the Frozen Continent. Wounded, he retreats to Norghania to regroup his forces and shield himself behind the walls of the capital. Lasgol and his friends will try to pass the fourth and final year of instruction and graduate as Rangers on their own merits. To do this they will have to take part in deeply dangerous missions and help the king against the invaders.

Still bruised and heartbroken from their last calamitous quest, Gorm Ingerson and his band of washed-up heroes try to make amends for the orcs they accidentally betrayed. But justice is put on hold when an old foe marches to the city gates. Gorm is horrified to discover a liche pitching the frightened city-dwellers on the merits of the undead lifestyle...at the head of a corpse army. To save the city from high-pressure sales tactics and an inevitable siege, the dwarf warrior and his misfit band hatch a harebrained scheme that lands them at the top of the king’s kill list.

Lydia returns to Mudaire to enter training at the healing temple. But instead of fighting to save lives, she’s convinced she is doing more harm than good. She delves into the history of the gods only to discover a truth that will change her life forever. His birthright as commander of the Royal Army is finally in his grasp, but Killian feels anything but victorious. Burdened by his past, he embraces the darker side of his mark - and in doing so, risks starting a war.

Finally resolving the conflict none of them expected to take part in, Asterios and his companions continue their journey to discover more about his past and his unusual power. The Demon Continent definitely holds at least some answers to their troubles, as long as they can find Grea's father and convince him to aid them. Alongside their newly gained ally, they press on....

It has been four years since Darian saw his village sacked and burned by barbarians. Taking refuge with the Hawkbrothers, he soon finds his life's calling - as a Healing Adept. But even as he learns the mystical ways of this ancient race, Darian cannot escape the dangers threatening his future. Another tribe of barbarians is approaching. The time has come...to stand up and fight.

Ruwen returns home to discover a civil war he unintentionally ignited 18 months prior. Still haunted by the events on Savage Island, he resolves to rise above the specter of his past mistakes and seeks the counsel of loyal friends to avert a looming descent into tyranny.

Kagen Vale is the trusted and feared captain of the palace guard, charged with protection of the royal children of the Silver Empire. But one night, Kagen is drugged and the entire imperial family is killed, leaving the empire in ruins. Haunted and broken, Kagen is abandoned by his gods and damned forever. He becomes a wanderer, trying to take down as many of his enemies as possible while plotting to assassinate the usurper, the deadly Witch-king of Hakkia. While all around him magic—long banished from the world—returns in strange and terrifying ways.

Rangers aren’t born, they’re forged. Never has this been more true for Asher, who must train a new ranger…or be the one to hunt him down. Surviving an encounter with a Werewolf has changed Russell Maybury’s life forever. If he is to salvage anything, he must craft a new life using his abilities to do good. Should he stray, he will answer to Asher.

After decades of internecine warfare, the tribes of the Tiste Edur have at last united under the Warlock King of the Hiroth. There is peace - but it has been exacted at a terrible price: a pact made with a hidden power whose motives are at best suspect, at worst, deadly. To the south, the expansionist kingdom of Lether, eager to fulfill its long-prophesized renaissance as an Empire reborn, has enslved all its less-civilized neighbors with rapacious hunger. All, that is, save one - the Tiste Edur. And it must be only a matter of time before they too fall.