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"The Foundation of Empire is Art & Science. Remove them or Degrade them, & the Empire is No More." ~ William Blake (1757-1827), English poet
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New and Recently Released!
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Masks
by E. C. Blake
In Aygrima, magic is a Gift possessed from birth by a very small percentage of the population, with the Autarch himself the most powerful magic worker of all. Only the long-vanquished Lady of Pain and Fire had been able to challenge his rule.
At the age of fifteen, citizens are recognized as adults and must don the spell-infused Masks--which denote both status and profession--whenever they are in public. To maintain the secure rule of the kingdom, the Masks are magically crafted to reveal any treasonous thoughts or actions. And once such betrayals are exposed, the Watchers are there to enforce the law.
Mara Holdfast, daughter of the Autarch's Master Maskmaker, is fast approaching her fifteenth birthday and her all-important Masking ceremony. Her father himself has been working behind closed doors to create Mara's Mask. Once the ceremony is done, she will take her place as an adult, and Gifted with the same magical abilities as her father, she will also claim her rightful place as his apprentice.
But on the day of her Masking something goes horribly wrong, and instead of celebrating, Mara is torn away from her parents, imprisoned, and consigned to a wagon bound for the mines. Is it because she didn't turn the unMasked boy she discovered over to the Night Watchers? Or is it because she's lied about her Gift, claiming she can only see one color of magic, when in truth she can see them all, just as she could when she was a young child? Whatever the reason, her Mask has labeled her a traitor and now she has lost everything, doomed to slavery in the mines until she dies. And not even her Gift can show Mara the future that awaits her--a future that may see her freed to aid a rebel cause, forced to become a puppet of the Autarch, or transformed into a force as dangerous to her world as the legendary Lady of Pain and Fire.
Masks #1
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Shadows
by E. C Blake
In "Masks," Mara Holdfast's life changed forever. As the daughter of the Autarch's Master Maskmaker, she had a clearly defined future: a quiet, ordered life in the capital, making Masks with her father and doing work important to the ruling Autarch. But when her Mask, specially made by her own father, cracked and fell to pieces during her Masking ceremony, Mara was exiled from everything she once knew.
Now she has become part of an underground rebellion, rejecting the unjust rules of a Masked society. She must try to understand her unprecedented ability to use all types of magic--and to tear magic from the living bodies of those around her. But Mara has yet to discover just how horrifying her power can be....
Masks #2
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Black widow
by Jennifer Estep
There's nothing worse than a cruel, cunning enemy with time to kill--and my murder to plan. With wicked Fire elemental Mab Monroe long gone, you'd think I could finally catch a break. But someone's always trying to take me down, either as Gin Blanco or my assassin alter-ago. Now along comes the Spider's new arch-nemesis, the mysteriously named M. M. Monroe, who is gleefully working overtime to trap me in a sticky web of deceit.
The thing is, I'm not the only target. I can see through the tangled threads enough to know that every bit of bad luck my friends have been having lately is no accident--and that each unfortunate "coincidence" is just one more arrow drawing ever closer to hitting the real bull's-eye. Though new to Ashland, this M. M. Monroe is no stranger to irony, trying to get me, an assassin, framed for murder. Yet, as my enemy's master plan is slowly revealed, I have a sinking feeling that it will take more than my powerful Ice and Stone magic to stop my whole life from going up in flames.
Elemental Assassin #12
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Low Midnight
by Carrie Vaughn
Carrie Vaughn's "Low Midnight" spins out of the series on the wave of popularity surrounding Kitty's most popular supporting character, Cormac Bennett, a two-minded assassin of the paranormal who specializes in killing lycanthropes. In his first solo adventure, Cormac, struggling with a foreign consciousness trapped inside him, investigates a century-old crime in a Colorado mining town which could be the key to translating a mysterious coded diary...a tome with secrets that could shatter Kitty's world and all who inhabit it. With a framing sequence that features Kitty Norville herself, "Low Midnight" not only pushes the Kitty saga forward, but also illuminates Cormac's past and lays the groundwork for Kitty's future.
Kitty Norville #13
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City of eternal night
by Kristen L. Painter
Still coming to terms with their unexpected partnership, Augustine and Harlow have a tentative truce. Although with Harlow slowly working to accept being fae, Augustine still learning how to be Guardian, and feelings growing on both sides, they do not have an easy road ahead.
But when a young girl is stolen from the Mardi Gras Exemplar Ball -- the biggest fae event of the year -- Harlow and Augustine must put all their issues aside to bring her home alive. Harlow's father, Branzino, is of course their number one suspect, but evil lurks in every corner of the city and time is running out. Their only choices: Either find a way to rescue the girl, or Augustine must die.
Crescent City #2
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The paper magician
by Charlie N. Holmberg
Ceony Twill arrives at the cottage of Magician Emery Thane with a broken heart. Having graduated at the top of her class from the Tagis Praff School for the Magically Inclined, Ceony is assigned an apprenticeship in paper magic despite her dreams of bespelling metal. And once she s bonded to paper, that will be her only magic forever.
Yet the spells Ceony learns under the strange yet kind Thane turn out to be more marvelous than she could have ever imagined animating paper creatures, bringing stories to life via ghostly images, even reading fortunes. But as she discovers these wonders, Ceony also learns of the extraordinary dangers of forbidden magic.
An Excisioner a practitioner of dark, flesh magic invades the cottage and rips Thane s heart from his chest. To save her teacher s life, Ceony must face the evil magician and embark on an unbelievable adventure that will take her into the chambers of Thane s still-beating heart and reveal the very soul of the man.
Paper Magician #1
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The Glass Magician
by Charlie N. Holmberg
Now well into her apprenticeship with magician Emery Thane, twenty-year-old Ceony Twill is continuing to discover the joy of paper magic. She adores bringing her spells to life in surprising ways, from learning the power of distortion to creating a beloved paper dog. And she secretly hopes that the romance she foresaw blossoming between her and the peculiar yet strikingly handsome Emery finally becomes real.
But when one magician with a penchant for deadly scheming believes that Ceony possesses a secret, he vows to discover it even if it tears apart the very fabric of their magical world. After a series of attacks target Ceony, and catch those she holds most dear in the crossfire, she knows she must find the true limits of her powers and keep her knowledge from falling into wicked hands.
Paper Magician #2
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Jala's mask
by Mike Grinti
To save her people, she must steal the face of a god.
For two hundred years, Jala's people have survived by raiding the mainland. By shaping the reefs around the Five-and-One Islands into magical ships, they can cross the ocean, take what they want, and disappear.
Or so they have always believed. On the night after Jala becomes queen, a tide of magical fog sweeps over the islands, carrying ships form the mainland. Inside are a desperate people, driven half-mad by sorcery and looking for revenge.
Now Jala--caught between her family's unending ambitions, the politics of the islands thrown into turmoil, and her unexpected love for the king--must find a way to save them all if she can.
But there are greater powers at work, and the politics of gods are more terrifying than she could have imagined. To save the Five-and-One Islands she may have to leave them behind.
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The Immortals of Meluha
by Amish Tripathi
1900 BC in what modern Indians call the Indus Valley Civilization and the inhabitants called the land of Meluha: a near-perfect empire created many centuries earlier by Lord Ram--one of the greatest monarchs that ever lived--faces peril as its primary river, the Saraswati, is slowly drying to exctinction. The Suryavanshi rulers are challenged with devastating terrorist attacks from the east, the land of the Chandravanshis. To make matters worse, the Chandravanshis appear to have allied with the Nagas, an ostracized and sinister race of deformed humans with astonishing martial skills.
The only hope for the Suryavanshis is an ancient legend: When evil reaches epic proportions, when all seems lost, a hero will emerge. Is the unexpected, rough-hewn Tibetan immigrant Shiva that hero? Drawn suddenly to his destiny, duty, and by love, Shiva will attempt to move mountains and lead the Suryavanshi to destroy evil.
The Shiva Trilogy #1
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| Gideon Smith and the Mechanical Girl by David BarnettSteampunk. In an alternate world where the American Colonies lost their bid for independence, fisherman's son Gideon Smith spends his days working aboard a clockwork boat and reading about the exploits of his hero, Captain Lucian Trigger. When Gideon's father disappears under strange and supernatural circumstances, he travels to London to consult the Captain. Along the way, he meets mechanical girl Maria, the first of several companions who will accompany him on a wild ride around the world and back again. If you enjoy this rollicking steampunk adventure, check out its sequel, Gideon Smith and the Brass Dragon. |
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| The Iron Wyrm Affair by Lilith SaintcrowSteampunk. Archibald Clare is one of the last remaining mentaths in Londoninium, in large part because the others have been murdered. Unregistered on account of previous crimes, Clare -- whose Holmesian feats of deduction result from his obsessive need to manipulate data -- is both an embarrassment and a vital asset to his country. For that reason, Queen Victrix, the current physical incarnation of the goddess Britannia, charges "Prime" sorceress Emma Bannon to protect Clare from assassins. Bannon, aided by Mikal, her shape-shifting demon Shield, doesn't trust Clare any more than he trusts the "illogical" sorceress, but with enemies hot on their trail, they have no choice but to work together. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Prince George's County Memorial Library System 6532 Adelphi Rd. Hyattsville, Maryland 20782 301-699-3500http://www.pgcmls.info/ |
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