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The Dragon's Legacy
by Deborah A. Wolf
In the heart of the singing desert, the people are fading from the world. Mothers bear few live children, the warriors and wardens are hard-pressed to protect those who remain, and the vash'ai - the great cats who have called the people kithren for as long as there have been stories - bond with fewer humans each year. High above, the Sun Dragon sings a song of life and love while far below, the Earth Dragon slumbers as she has since the beginning of time. Her sleep is fitful, and from the darkness of her dreams come whispers of war ... and death. Sulema is a newly minted warrior of the people and a true Ja'Akari - a daughter of the unforgiving desert. When a mysterious young man appears in her home of Aish Kalumm, she learns that the Dragon King is dying in distant Atualon. As the king fades, so does the magic that sings the Earth Dragon to sleep. There are those who wish to keep the dragon trapped in endless slumber. Others would tap her power to claim it for their own. And there are those who would have her wake, so they might laugh as the world burns..
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Brimstone
by Cherie Priest
"WAR IS HELL. AND ITS FIRES HAVE FOLLOWED TOMAS CORDERO HOME.... In the trenches of Europe during the Great War, Tomas Cordero operated a weapon more devastating than any gun: a flame projector that doused the enemy in liquid fire. Having left the battlefield a shattered man, he comes home to find yet more tragedy--for in his absence, his wife has died of the flu. Haunted by memories of the woman he loved and the atrocities he perpetrated, Tomas dreams of fire and finds himself setting match to flame when awake.... Alice Dartle is a talented clairvoyant living among others who share her gifts in the community of Cassadaga, Florida. She too dreams of fire, knowing her nightmares are connected to the shell-shocked war veteran and widower. And she believes she can bring peace to him and his wife's spirit. But the inferno that threatens to consume Tomas and Alice was set ablaze centuries ago by someone whose hatred transcended death itself..."
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Witchy eye : flight of the serpent's daughter
by D. J. Butler
Sarah Calhoun is the 15 year old daughter of the elector Andrew Calhoun, one of the electors who gets to decide who will ascend as the emperor of the New World. None of that matters to Sarah. She has a natural talent for hexing and one bad eye, and all she wants is to be left alone. But then a Yankee wizard-priest tries to kidnap her. Sarah fights back with the aid of a monk named Thalanes, who is one of the not-quite-human Firstborns. It is he that reveals to Sarah her secret heritage. On a desperate quest to claim that heritage, she is hunted by the emperor's bodyguards as well as darker things. If she cannot claim her heritage, it may mean the end to her, her family and the world where she was just beginning to find her place.
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Winter of the gods
by Jordanna Max Brodsky
A follow-up to The Immortals finds a disgruntled Selene DiSilva assisting the NYPD when a high-profile murder victim is discovered on Wall Street's Charging Bull statue.
Manhattan has many secrets. Some are older than the city itself. Winter in New York: snow falls, lights twinkle, and a very disgruntled Selene DiSilva prowls the streets looking for prey. But when a dead body is discovered sprawled atop Wall Street's iconic Charging Bull statue, it's clear the NYPD can't solve the murder without help. The murder isn't just the work of another homicidal cult -- this time, someone's sacrificing the gods themselves. While raising fundamental questions about the very existence of the gods, Selene must hunt down the perpetrators, tracking a conspiracy that will test the bonds of loyalty and love
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| Bane and Shadow by Jon SkovronSword and Sorcery. First they destroyed her village, then they took her partner. Now, Bleak Hope must temporarily set aside her vendetta to embark on a rescue mission. Picking up where Hope and Red left off, this 2nd book in the Empire of Storms series finds Hope terrorizing the high seas as the pirate Dire Bane as she searches for Red, who's been taken by ruthless biomancers. Red, forced to infiltrate the Imperial court, struggles to survive the deadly politics of the realm while seeking to undo the physical and mental bonds his captors have placed on him. Series fans will enjoy reuniting with favorite characters and revisiting the empire, but newcomers should definitely start at the beginning, given the complexity of the books' multiple storylines. |
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Magical Coming-of-Age Stories
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| The Life of Elves by Muriel Barbery; translated by Alison AndersonContemporary Fantasy. Although they don't yet know it, two orphaned girls must join forces to save the world. Maria grows up in a village in Burgundy, France, where she demonstrates a strong affinity for the natural world -- including an ability to see beyond the veil that separates this realm from the next. Carla, raised by a priest and his housekeeper in Abruzzo, Italy, is a musical prodigy whose talent is accompanied by powerful visions. Saying more might spoil the many surprises of this enchanting novel, but if you enjoy atmospheric and leisurely paced coming-of-age tales that unfold in lyrical language, this is a book you'll savor. |
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The Name of the Wind
by Patrick Rothfuss
As proprietor of the remote Waystone Inn, Kote leads a quiet life until the itinerant Chronicler recognizes him as the legendary hero Kvothe and urges him to recount his life story, beginning with his birth as one of the Edema Ruh, a nomadic troop of performers. After being orphaned by demons at a young age, Kvothe becomes in turn a wizard, a bard, a thief, an assassin, and a hero who seeks to avenge his family's murder. The Name of the Wind is the 1st installment of the Kingkiller Chronicles, which continues with The Wise Man's Fear; there's also a companion novella, The Slow Regard of Silent Things, which focuses on popular supporting character Auri.
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| Roses and Rot by Kat HowardContemporary Fantasy. Having grown up with a parent who rivals any wicked stepmother, sisters Imogen and Marin are understandably obsessed with fairy tales, which inform their present-day careers as a writer and a dancer, respectively. Having lived apart since adolescence, the once-close siblings are reunited when both women are accepted to Melete, a prestigious artist's colony that seems too good to be true. And it is, of course, though neither woman could have ever imagined the darkness concealed beneath the colony's idyllic facade. For another fantasy novel that uses folklore to explore sisterly bonds, try Krassi Zourkova's Wildalone. |
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Sabriel
by Garth Nix
Sabriel is the daughter of Abhorsen, a necromancer whose lifework is seeing that the dead do not roam the earth. She is ill- prepared to take up the position when her father becomes ensnared in an enchantment by his archenemy Kerrigor, a prince who has gained his powers through breaking the sacred laws of Charter Magic. Sabriel must accept advice from Mogget, a malevolent spirit kept under a spell in a cat's body who must serve the Abhorsen. With Mogget's help, Sabriel begins her search for her father. They free a man from enchantment who calls himself Touchstone because he has lost his memory. He joins their quest and agrees to lend his magic powers to defeat Kerrigor. Although she is able to bring her father back to help in the final confrontation, he insists that Sabriel is now the Abhorsen and must take up the role. Sabriel uses her knowledge of Ancelstierre, where she went to boarding school, to defeat Kerrigor and takes up the task of returning the kingdom to order.
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| Among Others by Jo WaltonFantasy. After the death of her twin sister, 14-year-old Morwenna, or "Mori," flees her unstable mother and her Welsh hometown to live with the father she barely knows -- and never will, since he immediately packs her off to a boarding school in the English countryside. Grief-stricken and friendless, Mori takes refuge in books, eventually meeting others who share her interests in fantasy and science fiction. But Mori can't avoid her past forever. Unfolding in the form of a diary, Among Others is both a coming-of-age story full of magic and a love letter to literature that fans of Diana Wynne Jones' Fire and Hemlock may enjoy. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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