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"So let the order of chapters before you represent my chief wish for this book, modeled after a growing sunflower or paper nautilus: that it be useful." ~ from Sharona Muir's Invisible Beasts
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New and Recently Released!
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| Child of a Hidden Sea by A.M. DellamonicaFantasy. Magically transported from an alley in San Francisco to Stele Island, stronghold of the strange maritime world of Stormwrack, 24-year-old Sophie Hansa -- adopted as a young child -- discovers that her biological family is more unusual than she ever imagined. Upon splashing down in Stormwrack, Sophie must tread carefully in a foreign realm whose language she doesn't speak, where political conspiracies abound, and in which she is persona non grata. As she navigates Stormwrack -- aided, grudgingly, by a pirate captain and her own long-lost sister -- Sophie must decide where she truly belongs and figure out how to get there. |
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| Full Fathom Five by Max GladstoneFantasy. In this 3rd installment of the Craft Novels, religion operates in a fashion similar to investment banking, as magical "soulstuff," the currency of faith, is handled according to its potential risks and rewards. Based on Kavekana, a tropical island and offshore financial haven ruled by the powerful Priests of the Order, god-builder Kai Pohala creates idols -- living but non-sentient beings designed as bank accounts for sacrifices on behalf of worshippers all over the world. However, when one of her creations, dubbed Seven Alpha, dies, Kai begins to question the system. Although Full Fathom Five stands on its own, readers unfamiliar with this series and its highly inventive, steampunk-inflected world should check out the previous books, Three Parts Dead and Two Serpents Rise. |
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| The Magician's Land: A Novel by Lev GrossmanContemporary Fantasy. Cast out of the enchanted world of Fillory, where he once reigned as High King, magician Quentin Coldwater returns to the only other place he's ever felt truly at home: his alma mater, Brakebills College. But, as Quentin quickly discovers, you can't go home again. So what's a magician-in-exile to do? Find out in this "deeply satisfying" (Kirkus Reviews) conclusion to Lev Grossman's bestselling Magician trilogy, which begins with The Magicians and The Magician King. |
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| The Book of Life by Deborah HarknessContemporary Fantasy. Having traveled to Elizabethan England and back, historian Diana Bishop, a witch, and her paramour, vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont, continue their pursuit of the alchemical manuscript known as Ashmole 782, called "the Book of Life" for the information it contains. However, they're not the only ones who want this elusive tome: its secrets would prove advantageous to any number of supernatural factions, most of which are at war with one another. This conclusion to the All Souls Trilogy will enchant series fans, as well as readers who enjoy a rich blend of magic, mystery, time travel, and forbidden romance. However, newcomers should start at the beginning of the saga with A Discovery of Witches and Shadow of Night. |
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| Invisible Beasts: Tales of the Animals that Go Unseen Among Us by Sharona MuirFantasy. Naturalist Sophie is "odd-sighted," having inherited the rare trait of being able to see creatures invisible to everyone else. While Sophie hides her gift from the rest of the world, fearing that the species she discovers will be exploited and ultimately exterminated, she's too much of a scientist not to document the unusual fauna that she alone has observed. "Part fantasy novel, part field guide" (Publishers Weekly), Invisible Beasts may appeal to fans of modern-day bestiaries, including E.B. Hudspeth's The Resurrectionist or even Caspar Henderson's nonfiction book The Book of Barely Imagined Beings. |
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| Red Country by Joe AbercrombieMilitary Fantasy. When Shy South returns from a trip to town with her stepfather, Lamb, she finds the family farm burned to the ground and her younger siblings missing. Suspecting that this is the work of child-abducting slave traders from the North, Shy and Lamb embark on a perilous journey to rescue the children. Although it's set in the same world as author Joe Abercrombie's First Law Trilogy, this novel (itself a loose sequel to the stand-alone book The Heroes) requires no previous knowledge of the series. However, newcomers who enjoy gritty, violent military-focused fantasy will no doubt want to immerse themselves in all the books' vividly rendered setting. |
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| The Steel Remains by Richard K. MorganSword and Sorcery. Once a war hero, retired swordsman Ringil is now a living tourist attraction, drumming up business in a backcountry inn by telling stories of his glory days. When his mother begs him to locate a cousin who's been sold into slavery, Ringil is surprised by the request -- his family long ago disowned him for being a lover of men. However, he shoulders his trusty broadsword, Ravensfriend, sets off in search of his kinswoman...and finds much more than he bargained for. Fans of Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy may enjoy the complex (and cynical) characters, dark humor, and explicit sex and violence of The Steel Remains, which is the 1st book in the Land Fit for Heroes series, followed by The Cold Commands and the forthcoming The Dark Defiles. |
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| The Company by K.J. ParkerMilitary Fantasy. At the end of a long war, General Teuche Kunessin returns home to Faralia, where he hopes to reunite with his surviving comrades from "A" Company to pursue their shared dream of a quiet life in a faraway place. Kunessin has acquired the island of Sphoe, and the would-be colonists hastily acquire wives and a retinue of servants. All goes according to plan until gold is discovered, sowing discord and testing loyalties. Light on the magic, but full of action and adventure, The Company is a gritty, psychologically intense novel by the author of the Engineer and Scavenger trilogies. |
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| The Way of Shadows by Brent WeeksFantasy. Durzo Blint is a "wetboy," a skilled assassin whose magic only enhances his ability to kill; Azoth is a "guild rat," picking pockets and stealing from merchants' stalls to survive on the streets. Azoth longs to be Blint's apprentice, determined to avenge the crimes of his cruel master and save the lives of his childhood friends. However, the path he's chosen to follow is a difficult one that will require Azoth to transform himself into someone even he doesn't recognize. Fast-paced and action-packed, The Way of Shadows kicks off the gritty and violent Night Angel trilogy, which continues with Shadows' Edge and Beyond the Shadows. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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