Fantasy Adventure

The trouble with humans is that they're far too sensitive. Forget you put a woman in the local jail for a few months - and she takes it so personally! And yet she is the one trying to assassinate the queen. And now I'm trapped with Elina Shestakova of the Black Bear Riders of the Midnight... gods! That endless name! But what am I to do? I am Celyn the Charming with direct orders from my queen to protect this unforgiving female. Even more shocking, this unforgiving female is completely unimpressed by me.

A lazy and wussy ex-gamer, Phil becomes one of the few humans who receive a mysterious alien piece of wetware that allows them to see the world through an augmented-reality interface very similar to those used in an MMORPG game. Guided by its stats and messages, Phil begins to level up, gradually transforming himself and his life. He even opens his own business in order to help his friends and complete strangers who acquire a newfound respect for him, assisting him in his travails.

Citadel is the only human city on the alien planet Edalide, ruled by the biweekly tides that bring both deadly danger and much-needed resources. But the drowning waters, constant threat of starvation, and eternal cold aren’t the most dangerous challenge. For the Flooded Forest is ruled by demons: monsters from Hell sent by their vengeful god as penance for their ancestors’ rebellion. To save their souls and return to their former glory, Citadel must kill every single one. Or so they believe.

Stranded on the distant planet Tschai, young Adam Reith is the sole survivor of a space mission who discovers the world is inhabited - not only by warring alien cultures but by human slaves as well, taken early in Earth's history. Reith must find a way off the planet to warn Earth of Tschai's deadly existence.

Following Reyna Diaz’s death at the hands of the Swarm (in Gears of War 4), Kait seals her mother’s tomb and swears revenge. As she, JD, Del, Marcus, Cole, Samantha, and Baird lick their wounds and resupply, First Minister Jinn summons them to New Ephyra, promising that the “crimes” they committed will be forgiven. Before they can rejoin the Coalition, however, Jinn demands proof of their loyalty, and of the threat of the Swarm. Promised a new command, JD and Del agree. Plagued by nightmares, Kait rebels and refuses.

Sam and his guild mates have been victorious, and now the land of Ozara awaits. But winning a kingdom isn't all it's cracked up to be. Soon other players will be allowed into the new land, and Sam and his friends will have to defend what they have won if they plan on keeping it.

Forged in the fires of the lawless wasteland, Clay, Alex, and Joe have finally earned the unimaginable power of Incants. All they want now is to settle down, drink a few beers, and carve out a new life west of the containment wall. Not everyone in the IZ has such noble goals at heart, however. When the Jaeger Squad learns that another group of magic-slinging Incants are enslaving homesteaders to farm gold and harvest enchanted items to sell on the black market, they can’t just turn a blind eye. Especially since Clay and the others are the only ones with the power to make things right.

Ridmark Arban was once a Swordbearer, a knight of renown. Now he is a branded outcast, stripped of his sword, and despised as a traitor. But he alone sees the danger to come. Calliande awakens in the darkness, her memories gone, and creatures of terrible power hunting her. For she alone holds the secret that can save the world...or destroy it utterly. The secret of the Frostborn.

Tragedy and heartache seem to be waiting for Drew Carter at every turn, but college offers Drew a chance to start over - until an accident during a physics experiment leaves him blind and his genius friend, Benjamin Berg, missing. As his sight miraculously returns, Drew discovers that the accident has heightened his neuron activity, giving him skills and sight beyond the normal man. When he begins to observe fierce invaders that no one else can see, he questions his own sanity, and so do others. But is he insane or do the invaders truly exist?

Who wants to be a superhero? Hope did, but she grew out of it. Which made her superhuman breakthrough in the Ashland Bombing, just before starting her freshman year at the University of Chicago, more than a little ironic. And now she has some decisions to make. Given the code-name "Astra" and invited to join the Sentinels, Chicago's premier super-team, will she take up the cape and mask and become a career superhero? Or will she get a handle on her new powers (superstrength has some serious drawbacks) and then get on with her life plan?

Yesterday, Altai was a war hero. Today, he is a prisoner who chose exile to Rhapsody instead of death. This planet, the Range, knows no mercy. Here, thousands of prisoners fight each other for a place under the strange, cold sun. Here, the leftover alien biomechanisms and out-of-control Terran war machines roam in the ruins, and human life is measured in virtual experience that can be exchanged for armor and implants. Surviving in the Limbo slaughterhouse, upgrading to the 10th level, and getting into the Green Zone is all any dead man can hope for. Except not everyone succeeds.

Somewhere on the outer rim of the universe, a mass of decaying world-ships known as the Legion is traveling in the seams between the stars. For generations, a war for control of the Legion has been waged, with no clear resolution. As worlds continue to die, a desperate plan is put into motion. Zan wakes with no memory, prisoner of a people who say they are her family.

Women rule in Women's Country. Women live apart from men, sheltering the remains of civilization. They have cut themselves off with walls and by ordinance from marauding males. Waging war is all men are good for. Men are allowed to fight their barbaric battles among themselves, garrison against garrison. For the sake of his pride, each boy child ritualistically rejects his mother when he comes of age to be a warrior. But all the secrets of civilization are strictly the possession of women.

Poppy knew she was taking a risk following her beloved Ragweed to Bannock Hill, but a night of dancing with the handsome golden mouse was just too tempting. So when Ragweed is scooped up by the sinister owl, Mr. Ocax, who rules over Dimwood forest, she’s devastated. Her whole life she was warned of Mr. Ocax’s evil ways … how could she have been so foolish to put herself and Ragweed at risk?

Although the exciting military career she hoped for never got off the ground, Ky Vatta ended up seeing plenty of combat when she took the helm of one of the commercial transport vessels in her family's fleet...and steered it into a full-blown war. Now the lessons she learned in that trial by fire are about to pay off---because this time, the war has come to her. Someone has launched a full-throttle offensive against Vatta Transport Ltd., Ky's father's interstellar shipping empire.

For 300 years, Princess Dria has avoided the drama of the royal court by training as a battle mage. When her father summons her back to court just as she begins to rise up the ranks, she's furious. Even worse, she must work with her estranged brother Ralan on a mission to Earth. But as soon as Dria arrives at Moranaia's new outpost, her brother drops the leadership of the entire place into her hands. Now she's in charge of fortifying a new outpost on a planet she's never even visited.

Teammates Lucas, Miles, and Jasmine—known as the Wild Crows—have been summoned by the wizard Gamemaster, Hob, to play another magical, adventurous game of Champion’s Quest. When the three friends are ambushed and forced into their second game, Lucas and his friends are ill-prepared to face what feels like an impossible quest—confront an evil centaur and outsmart a villainous, shapeshifting Questmaster to rescue a powerful magical ally.

It's been seven years since the Upheaval. Seven years of fighting the hordes of the undead. John Talon and his family are hoping to finally settle down and start their lives over again. But in the grasslands of Iowa, a new danger has emerged. A new form of the Enillo Virus, unlike any seen before, threatens to unravel the fragile new country. John, Charlie, Duncan, and Tommy will find their skills put to the test as they face off against the worst of the virus.

Hugo Award-winning author Charles Stross is renowned for his cutting-edge science fiction. This third entry in his “edgy … spoof of Cold War spy thrillers” ( Booklist) finds covert agent Bob Howard learning about a top-secret dossier that vanishes with his boss. Determined to discover the contents of this memorandum, Howard runs afoul of Russian spies, ancient demons, and apostles of a hideous cult planning to raise the Eater of Souls from the undead.

Ben and his friends have defeated a deadly threat to mankind and gained powerful allies along the way, but sometimes, the biggest danger is ourselves. In the final audiobook in the Benjamin Ashwood series, Ben will have to take the mantle of leadership to prevent a war that will devastate Alcott.