Fiction Swords

After helping my steady dragon Zav with his family problems, I thought life would get back to normal. As normal as it can be when you’re a hit woman responsible for hunting down bad guys. That was before a strange artifact showed up in a bog and turned my ancient dwarven sword into a magical beacon. Now, my enemies can sense it from hundreds of miles away. Usually, fighting off opportunists wouldn’t be a problem (they don’t call me Ruin Bringer without reason), but even I can only handle so many attacks at a time.

Accused of murdering a man the Southern tribes believe to be their messiah, but who is actually the slayer of Del's family, Tiger and Del flee across the deadly Punja desert, hunted by religious zealots and sword-dancer assassins. But evading death by assassins' blades is only one of the challenges they face. For Tiger's sword, Samiel, has been possessed by the spirit of the deadly sorcerer, Chosa Dei—a wizard out of legend with the power to unmake the entire world, a master of evil who seeks to mold Tiger into his ultimate weapon of destruction.

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.

They are the fatemarked. Misunderstood. Worshipped. Hated. Murdered at birth. Their time to step into the light has come. An ancient prophecy foretold their coming, the chosen few who will bring peace to a land embroiled in a century of mistrust and war. When kings start dying, that hope and belief swiftly turns to fear. Roan Loren is one of the fatemarked, but has hidden his mark of power his entire life, fearing the damage it might cause to those around him. A great evil is coming. He can't hide anymore.

In The Swords of Lankhmar, a plague of rats overruns the capital city and glittering gem of the land of Nehwon. Commissioned to guard a ship of grain from the cursed rodents, brother-in-arms Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser soon discover the plague has progressed to a fatal point. Mustering the strength of sorcery, they descend into the depths of Lankhmar and rise to battle in order to save the soul of the ill-fated city.

Stephen Oakwood is a young man on the edge of this hidden world. He has talent and potential, but turning that potential into magical power takes money, opportunity, and training. All Stephen has is a minimum wage job and a cat. But when a chance encounter with a member of House Ashford gets him noticed by the wrong people, Stephen is thrown in the deep end. For centuries, the vast corporations and aristocratic Houses of the magical world have grown impossibly rich and influential by hoarding their knowledge.

When Minalan the Spellmonger was exiled from his beloved mageland of Sevendor by Prince Tavard, his friend Duke Anguin made him Count Palatine of the Magelaw, a vast realm in the Alshari Wilderlands that Minalan is all too familiar with. After the goblin invasion, the province is devastated, ruined, and peopled almost only by freed slaves. But Minalan has brought his recovering wife and family into exile with him, and he views their impoverished fief as an opportunity to build a new City of Magi in the wilderness.

Scorio thought victory was within his grasp. He had bested the Final Gauntlet and overcome the treachery of Chancellor Praximar. But the Rascor Plains are full of peril, and his quest for truth has only just begun. With his friends scattered and his reputation in tatters, Scorio must navigate a web of intrigue that stretches from the powerful House Hydra and the Fiery Shoals to the mysterious forces that govern the Plains. He will face foes, both human and inhuman, and confront the darkest secrets of his world.

The magical world of Davrar is inhospitable and strange. Terrible monsters roam, ancient dungeons lurk over every hill, and the prophesied Endings promise doom. But it's Nathan Lark's new home. He's developed his antimagic and found friends in the most powerful Adventurers of his generation. They've sworn an oath to defend the city of Gemore and defeat the Endings. On the horizon is the enslaving mage-empire of Giantsrest, and Archmage Taeol dho Droxol hasn't forgotten that Nathan holds secrets of Earth. Conflict is certain. There is only one path forward. Nathan and his friends must advance.

Harry Potter jamás ha oído hablar de Hogwarts hasta que las cartas comienzan a llegar al número cuatro de Privet Drive, pero sus siniestros tíos se apropian rápidamente de estos pergaminos amarillentos que llevan la dirección escrita en tinta verde y un sello púrpura. Luego, en su undécimo cumpleaños, un gigantesco hombre con ojos como escarabajos llamado Rubeus Hagrid irrumpe con una noticia asombrosa: Harry Potter es un mago y lo esperan en el Colegio Hogwarts de Magia y Hechicería. ¡Una aventura increíble está por comenzar!

December 1801. The Peace of Amiens end the long war with Napoleon Bonaparte's France, but Captain Alan Lewrie, Royal Navy, is appalled by its consequences. First, he's been in the Navy since 1780 (most unwillingly, most of the time!) and at sea for the better part of nine years, since 1793, so what is a dashing and successful frigate captain to do with himself, if he's ashore on half-pay, and if so, for how long? Second, and even worse, is where will Lewrie twiddle his thumbs and be bored to death until the war begins again, as he's sure it will?

Elloren Gardner and her friends were only seeking to right a few wrongs when they rescued a Selkie and freed a military dragon. The last thing they expected was to be thrust into a realm-wide underground resistance against Gardnerian conquest. While the Resistance struggles to fight back against the harsh rulings of the Mage Council, more and more Gardnerian soldiers descend upon the University…led by none other than Lukas Grey, now commander of the nearby military base. Though Elloren tries to keep him at arm's length, Lukas is determined to tie himself to her.

A young man lives among the trees of a primeval forest, raised by a wizened old sage and friend to the faeries and spirits of his home. He bears only half a name—Lien, an ancient word meaning "blade" or "edge"—and no knowledge of his heritage. As he grows, so too does his need for independence and answers. Thus, he begins his adventure, seeking a shattered sword and the truth behind the mysterious mark on his right hand.

Despite his youth, Declan Idrys knows of the evils of the world. He knows of the bastards and brigands who plague the King's lands, of the monsters skulking in the wooded depths of the realm. Together with his companion, Ryn - a beast of rather peculiar talent - he has spent the last decade of his life beneath the bloody banners of a half-dozen mercenary guilds, hunting precisely such festering wickedness within the borders of Viridian.

Ragnarok is near and the Vikings of Midgard have failed to uphold their duty to prevent it. With time running out, the All-Father Odin himself, searches all the worlds for one last warrior who might hold back the destruction threatening Nine Realms and every world created. Magnus’s death caught the All-Father’s one good eye. As an Army Ranger, he knew he was placing himself in the line of fire every day, and knew a day could come that cost him his life. What he didn't want was the rest of his team would be wiped out with him, the worst disaster the Rangers had experienced in decades.

The Gods split the skies and rained down tyranny upon the mortal realm long ago. Ever since then, the only thing worse than being human is being of Divine Blood. For someone like me—an undocumented God child, indebted to the Underworld Assassination Guild—that means only one thing: A life in the shadows. Or so it should have been . . . until Mortal Gods Academy. Until them.

Dina has unwillingly inherited her mother's gift: the ability to elicit shamed confessions simply by looking into someone's eyes. To Dina, however, these powers are not a gift but a curse. Surrounded by fear and hostility, she longs for simple friendship.

The saga of Sword Art Online continues with three side stories set during the Aincrad and Alfheim eras. The game of death took its toll on every player in a different way—when one turns up dead on the fifty-seventh floor, the game's afoot, and it's up to Asuna and Kirito to crack the case. There's also the story of how Kirito got his Excalibur sword in Alfheim (with a little help from his friends). And when the game of death first began, Kirito learned a difficult lesson—one he would never forget.

The gutsy, wild, tortured free spirit, forged in pain yet unafraid of life or death, Red Sonja, the famous, fiery She-Devil and barbarian of Hyrkania has never concerned herself with the consequences of her actions. She’s taken what she wanted, from treasure to drink to the companionship of bedfellows. She’s fought who deserved it (and sometimes those who didn’t). And she’s never looked back.

Lindisfarne, AD 793. There had been portents - famine, whirlwinds, lightning from clear skies, serpents seen flying through the air. But when the raiders came, no one was prepared. They came from the North, their dragon-prowed longships gliding out of the dawn mist as they descended on the kingdom's most sacred site. It is 8th June AD 793, and with the pillage of the monastery on Lindisfarne, the Viking Age has begun. While his fellow monks flee before the Norse onslaught, one young novice stands his ground.