|
|
"Adventurers didn't fight fair. They brought magic swords and rings, wizards and spells, and warriors who cut through goblin patrols..." ~ from Jim C. Hines' Goblin Quest
|
|
New and Recently Released!
|
|
|
The Providence of Fire
by Brian Staveley
The conspiracy to destroy the ruling family of the Annurian Empire is far from over.
Having learned the identity of her father's assassin, Adare flees the Dawn Palace in search of allies to challenge the coup against her family. Few trust her, but when she is believed to be touched by Intarra, patron goddess of the empire, the people rally to help her retake the capital city. As armies prepare to clash, the threat of invasion from barbarian hordes compels the rival forces to unite against their common enemy. Unknown to Adare, her brother Valyn, renegade member of the empire's most elite fighting force, has allied with the invading nomads. The terrible choices each of them has made may make war between them inevitable.
Between Valyn and Adare is their brother Kaden, rightful heir to the Unhewn Throne, who has infiltrated the Annurian capital with the help of two strange companions. The knowledge they possess of the secret history that shapes these events could save Annur or destroy it.
Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne #2
|
|
|
Blood Will Follow
by Snorri Kristijansson
Ulfar Thormodsson and Audun Arngrimsson are battered, having barely survived the battle for Stenvik, waged between King Olav and the followers of the White Christ, and those whose allegiance remains to the gods of the Norse pantheon. Alas, the two Vikings' encounter with a mysterious witch just before escaping the town over the city's walls have left them without the one thing that made them human: their mortality.
While Ulfar heads home to Sweden, hoping to find a safe haven where he can come to grips with his newfound inability to die, Audun travels by foot to the south, searching for answers on the open road. But both men are about to discover that they cannot run from their destiny. King Olav has left the conquered town of Stenvik in the hands of his lieutenant so he can journey north, following the advice of the scheming healer Valgard, to hunt for the source of the Vikings' power.
Soon, Ulfar and Audun will realize they have important roles to play in the battle for supremacy between those seeking to spread the gospel of the White Christ and those who keep to the old ways of Odin, Thor, and Loki.
Valhalla Saga #2
|
|
|
The Just City
by Jo Walton
"Here in the Just City you will become your best selves. You will learn and grow and strive to be excellent."
Created as an experiment by the time-traveling goddess Pallas Athene, the Just City is a planned community, populated by over ten thousand children and a few hundred adult teachers from all eras of history, along with some handy robots from the far human future--all set down together on a Mediterranean island in the distant past.
The student Simmea, born an Egyptian farmer's daughter sometime between 500 and 1000 A.D, is a brilliant child, eager for knowledge, ready to strive to be her best self. The teacher Maia was once Ethel, a young Victorian lady of much learning and few prospects, who prayed to Pallas Athene in an unguarded moment during a trip to Rome--and, in an instant, found herself in the Just City with grey-eyed Athene standing unmistakably before her.
Meanwhile, Apollo--stunned by the realization that there are things mortals understand better than he does--has arranged to live a human life, and has come to the City as one of the children. He knows his true identity, and conceals it from his peers. For this lifetime, he is prone to all the troubles of being human.
Then, a few years in, Sokrates arrives--the same Sokrates recorded by Plato himself--to ask all the troublesome questions you would expect. What happens next...
|
|
|
Half-Resurrection Blues
by Daniel Jose Older
"Because I'm an inbetweener--and the only one anyone knows of at that--the dead turn to me when something is askew between them and the living. Usually, it's something mundane like a suicide gone wrong or someone revived that shouldn'ta been."
Carlos Delacruz is one of the New York Council of the Dead's most unusual agents--an inbetweener, partially resurrected from a death he barely recalls suffering, after a life that's missing from his memory. He thinks he is one of a kind--until he encounters other entities walking the fine line between life and death.
One inbetweener is a sorcerer. He's summoned a horde of implike ngks capable of eliminating spirits, and they're spreading through the city like a plague. They've already taken out some of NYCOD's finest, leaving Carlos desperate to stop their master before he opens up the entrada to the Underworld--which would destroy the balance between the living and the dead.
But in uncovering this man's identity, Carlos confronts the truth of his own life--and death....
Bone Street Rumba Novel #1
|
|
|
The Dragon Conspiracy
by Lisa Shearin
"We're Supernatural Protection & Investigations, known as SPI. We battle the real monsters of myth and legend, but this Halloween, we're searching for diamonds..."
A gala opening at the Metropolitan Museum of Art has attracted the upper crust of Manhattan--and thieves. A trio of vile harpies attacks the crowd and steals the stars of the exhibition: a colorful cluster of seven cursed diamonds known as the Dragon Eggs.
In the right mage's hands, each stone can pack a magical wallop. Together they have the power to "cure" the supernaturals of the tristate area--but for many of those vampires and werewolves, that means turning into dust. I'm Makenna Fraser, a seer for SPI. With the help of my partner, Ian, and the other agents, I have twenty-four hours to prevent total global panic, find the diamonds, and save the supernatural community. No biggie...
SPI Files #2
|
|
|
Pacific Fire
by Greg Van Eekhout
I'm Sam. I'm just this guy.
Okay, yeah, I'm a golem created from the substance of his own magic by the late Hierarch of Southern California. With a lot of work, I might be able to wield magic myself. I kind of doubt it, though. Not like Daniel Blackland can.
Daniel's the reason the Hierarch's gone and I'm still alive. He's also the reason I've lived my entire life on the run. Ten years of never, ever going back to Los Angeles. Daniel's determined to protect me. To teach me. But it gets old. I've got nobody but Daniel. I'll never do anything normal. Like attend school. Or date a girl.
Now it's worse. Because things are happening back in LA. Very bad people are building a Pacific firedrake, a kind of ultimate weapon of mass magical destruction. Daniel seemed to think only he could stop them. Now Daniel's been hurt. I managed to get us to the place run by the Emmas. (Many of them. All named Emma. It's a long story.) They seem to be healing him, but he isn't going anyplace soon.
Do I even have a reason for existing, if it isn't to prevent this firedrake from happening? I'm good at escaping from things. Now I've escaped from Daniel and the Emmas, and I'm on my way to LA.
This may be the worst idea I ever had.
|
|
|
Gideon
by Alex Gordon
When Lauren's father dies, she makes a shocking discovery. The man she knew as John Reardon was once a completely different person, with a different name. Now, she's determined to find out who he really was, even though her only clues are an old photograph, some letters, and the name of a town--Gideon.
But someone--or something--doesn't want her to discover the truth. A strange man is stalking her, appearing everywhere she turns, and those who try to help her end up dead. Neither a shadowy enemy nor her own fear are going to prevent her from solving the mystery of her father--and unlocking the secrets of her own life.
Making her way to Gideon, Lauren finds herself more confused than ever. Nothing in this small Midwestern town is what it seems, including time itself. Residents start going missing, and Lauren is threatened by almost every townsperson she encounters. Two hundred years ago, a witch was burned at the stake, but in Gideon, the past feels all too chillingly present . . .
|
|
|
Wildalone
by Krassi Zourkova
Arriving at Princeton for her freshman year, Thea Slavin finds herself alone, a stranger in a strange land. Away from her family and her Eastern European homeland for the first time, she struggles to adapt to unfamiliar American ways and the challenges of college life--including an enigmatic young man whose brooding good looks and murky past intrigue her. Falling into a romantic entanglement with Rhys and his equally handsome and mysterious brother, Jake, soon draws Thea into a sensual mythic underworld as irresistible as it is dangerous.
In this shadow world that seems to mimic Greek mythology and the Bulgarian legends of the Samodivi or "wildalones"--forest witches who beguile and entrap men--she will discover a shocking secret that threatens everything she holds dear. And when the terrifying truth about her own family is revealed, it will transform her forever . . . if she falls under its spell.
|
|
|
The globe : the science of Discworld II
by Terry Pratchett
Originally published as The science of Discworld II in Britain.
At the time, they were so concerned with the rules of this new universe that they overlooked its inhabitants completely. Now, they have finally noticed humanity. And humanity has company: Elves, who want very much to take over human society.
In this second installment in the Science of Discworld miniseries, Terry Pratchett and acclaimed science writers Jack Cohen and Ian Stewart weave the history of the human mind, culture, language, art and science into a story in which the wizards compete with the elves for control of Roundworld and grapple with the nature of Good and Evil. All the while, the authors explore history as it is rewritten over and over, presenting a fascinating and brilliantly original view of the world we live in.
|
|
|
The mime order : a novel
by Samantha Shannon
Paige Mahoney has escaped the brutal penal colony of Sheol I, but her problems have only just begun: many of the fugitives are still missing and she is the most wanted person in London. As Scion turns its all-seeing eye on Paige, the mime-lords and mime-queens of the city's gangs are invited to a rare meeting of the Unnatural Assembly. Jaxon Hall and his Seven Seals prepare to take center stage, but there are bitter fault lines running through the clairvoyant community and dark secrets around every corner. Then the Rephaim begin crawling out from the shadows. But where is Warden? Paige must keep moving, from Seven Dials to Grub Street to the secret catacombs of Camden, until the fate of the underworld can be decided. Will Paige know who to trust? The hunt for the dreamwalker is on.
Bone Season #2
|
|
|
Forsaken
by Kelley Armstrong
Three years after being named Alpha of the North American pack, Elena Michaels is in London battling for respect from the British pack. When it becomes apparent she won't get it, she heads home, expecting a much-needed rest on her family vacation, only to discover a battle brewing of a very different kind.
One of her eight-year-old twins has disappeared, and all evidence points to Malcolm Danvers. It seems as if the psychotic former Pack member they've been tracking for the past year has brought the fight to them, setting the bait he knows Elena can't afford to ignore.
Otherworld Nights series
|
|
| Spellwright by Blake CharltonHigh Fantasy. Poor Nicodemus Weal. At Starhaven Academy, where the practice of magic depends on mastery of the written word, an aspiring spellwright who can't spell right is doomed. What's even worse is that, prior to the discovery of his "cacography" (magical dyslexia), Nicodemus was thought to be the prophesied Halcyon, destined to save the world. But following a series of bizarre incidents, some wonder if this unlikely hero is destined to destroy it instead. If Spellwright's unique magical system appeals to you, you might also appreciate the Allomancy depicted in Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series or the wine-based magic of Laura Anne Gilman's Flesh and Fire. |
|
| A Darkness Forged in Fire: Book One of the Iron Elves by Chris EvansMilitary Fantasy. Bearing the Mark of the Shadow Monarch, Konowa Swift Dragon has spent most of his career in the Iron Elves, a regiment comprised of elves who are immune to that metal's touch. But when a court martial kicks him out of the armed forces into bitter exile, danger in the form of the Shadow Monarch herself leads to Swift Dragon's hasty reinstatement. As he and his new regiment search for the Red Star (a legendary source of power which is the Calahrian Empire's only hope for victory), Swift Dragon must overcome his past in order to ensure his people's future. Fans of gritty yet witty military fantasy starring cynical, reluctant heroes in the vein of Joe Abercrombie's First Law Trilogy should enjoy this rousing series opener, which continues with The Light of Burning Shadows. |
|
| Hard Magic by Laura Anne GilmanUrban Fantasy. Introduced as a supporting character in author Laura Anne Gilman's Retrievers novels, recent college graduate Bonita "Bonnie" Torres takes center stage in this series opener. When Bonnie joins the Private Unaffiliated Paranormal Investigators (PUPI) of the Cosa Nostradamus, she becomes part of a CSI-style team that investigates crimes involving Talents, or magic users. But the novice unit's first big assignment (the apparent double suicide of two Talents) may be their last when powerful special interests get involved. Introducing an inventive system of forensic magic and a likable cast of misfits, Hard Magic kicks off the Paranormal Scene Investigations. |
|
| The Accidental Sorcerer by K.E. MillsFantasy. After losing his job as probationary compliance officer in the Minor Infringements Bureau of Ottosland's Department of Thaumaturgy, low-ranking wizard Gerald Dunwoody obtains a position at King Lional's court in neighboring New Ottosland. The job would be easy, were it not for the fact that nothing is what it seems in this tiny, impoverished kingdom. Now it's up to Gerald, minor wizard and failed bureaucrat, to set things to rights. The Accidental Sorcerer is the 1st book in the Rogue Agent series, followed by Witches Incorporated, Wizard Squared, and Wizard Undercover. |
|
Contact your librarian for more great books!
|
|
|
Prince George's County Memorial Library System 6532 Adelphi Rd. Hyattsville, Maryland 20782 301-699-3500http://www.pgcmls.info/ |
|
|
|