"Our Dragon doesn't eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley." ~ from Naomi Novik's Uprooted |
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New and Recently Released!
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The devil's detective : a novel by Simon Kurt Unsworth Thomas Fool is one of Hell's Information Men, but he lacks the resources or time to investigate, let alone solve, most of the crimes he's alerted to. Like all other human residents of the underworld, Fool is incapable of atoning for the sins that brought him there, as he's been robbed of the memories of what they were. And hope for a reprieve is limited, because those who are elevated to Heaven are selected according to rules that are only understood by the bureaucracies of Heaven and Hell. Fool's routine gets a jolt from the coincidence of two unusual events: he's asked to serve as escort for a heavenly delegation headed by the angel Adam, and then he encounters a murder victim whose soul was removed by the killer.
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| The Grace of Kings by Ken LiuEpic Fantasy. Warrior Mata Zyndu, scion of his once-powerful Clan, believes that it is his destiny to rule. His best friend, wily bandit Kuni Garu, just wants to get rich and have a grand time doing so. Although they bond during the rebellion against the empire, their different goals and philosophies will ultimately make them bitter adversaries. Author Ken Liu has won Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and World Fantasy awards for his short fiction and his translations (most notably of Cixin Liu's The Three-Body Problem). This 1st book in the Dandelion Dynasty series, which vividly evokes the politics and culture of China's Han dynasty, marks his novel-writing debut. |
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| Throne of Darkness: A Novel by Douglas NicholasHistorical Fantasy. In the year 1215, King John battles his own noblemen in the days leading up to the signing of the Magna Carta. However, the monarch is not entirely without allies: he's hired an African sorcerer to help his cause. And since there's powerful magic involved, only Irish queen Maeve (a.k.a. "Molly") and her companions -- her lover Jack, her granddaughter Nemain, and Nemain's husband Hob -- can stop the king's plot and save the British Isles. Throne of Darkness is the 3rd novel in a series that begins with Something Red and The Wicked. |
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| Uprooted by Naomi NovikFairy Tale Fantasy. Once every ten years, a powerful wizard known as the Dragon chooses one young woman from Agnieszka's valley and spirits her away to his enchanted tower. Agnieszka expects him to take her best friend, Kasia, who's beautiful, clever, and brave -- in other words, just the sort of girl destined for extraordinary adventures. However, when Agnieszka is chosen instead of Kasia, she discovers untapped talents, challenges the Dragon's rules (and patience), and battles the malevolent influence of the nearby enchanted Wood in order to save the people she loves. Based on Polish folklore, this stand-alone novel by Temeraire series author Naomi Novik is a fantastical coming-of-age tale combining magic, warfare, politics, and romance. |
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| The Book of Phoenix by Nnedi OkoraforScience Fantasy. In this prequel to Who Fears Death, genetically engineered Phoenix -- an "accelerated woman" designed as a biological weapon -- shakes off her complacency when her closest companion commits suicide. Determined to discover what her beloved saw that compelled him to take his own life, Phoenix escapes from the laboratory in which she was created and sets out to learn about a world she's only experienced through books. Like Octavia Butler's Fledgling, this thought-provoking novel explores issues of bioethics and identity, as well as race and gender, through the lens of speculative fiction. |
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| The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott LynchFantasy. The Thiefmaker of Camorr sells street urchin Locke Lamora to a fake priest, setting the boy on the path to fame and fortune (of a sort). Locke grows up to be the "garrista" (leader) of the Gentlemen Bastards, a gang of crooks and con artists. Operating as the Thorn of Camorr, he pursues his ambition of becoming the greatest thief of all time -- until a mysterious man called the Gray King becomes the new head of Camorr's criminal underworld and sets out to put an end to Locke Lamora through magic. This picaresque fantasy romp is the 1st book in the Gentleman Bastards series, which continues with Red Seas Under Red Skies and The Republic of Thieves. |
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The Darkness that Comes Before
by R. Scott Bakker
Long ago, an apocalyptic Holy War brought down kingdoms and nearly destroyed the three great schools of sorcery. Against a background of political and religious upheaval and talk of a new Holy War, a sorcerer of the Mandate School, a monk with royal blood, a barbarian chieftain, a prostitute wise beyond her years, and a young concubine find themselves drawn together by the rising threat of the return of the No-God and the destruction of their world. Bakker's series debut departs from the standard medieval world of most fantasy epics by introducing a realm that borrows from Middle Eastern cultures and features a rich background story highlighting an ongoing conflict between religion and magic as well as good and evil.
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Lord Foul's bane by Stephen R. DonaldsonHe called himself Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever because he dared not believe in the strange alternate world in which he suddenly found himself.
Yet the Land tempted him. He had been sick; now he seemed better than ever before. Through no fault of his own, he had been outcast, unclean, a pariah. Now he was regarded as a reincarnation of the Land's greatest hero--Berek Halfhand--armed with the mystic power of White Gold. That power alone could protect the Lords of the Land from the ancient evil of Despiser, Lord Foul. Only...Covenant had no idea of how the power could be used!
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The Black Company
by Glen Cook
Some feel the Lady, newly risen from centuries in thrall, stands between humankind and evil. Some feel she is evil itself. The hard-bitten men of the Black Company take their pay and do what they must, burying their doubts with their dead.
Until the prophesy: The White Rose has been reborn, somewhere, to embody good once more. There must be a way for the Black Company to find her...
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A Demon Bound
by Debra Dunbar
Thirteen years ago, Jack Winter lay dying in a graveyard. Jack called upon a demon and traded his soul for his life… and now the demon is back to collect its due. But Jack has finally found something to live for. Her name is Pete Caldecott, and because of her, Jack's not going to Hell without a fight.
Pete doesn't know about Jack's bargain, but she does know that something bigger and far more dangerous than Jack's demon is growing in the Black. Old gods are stirring and spirits are rising--and Jack doesn't stand a chance of stopping them without Pete's help.
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