Jason Duree

The train station harbors danger. Each day, one portal opens, leading to daunting trials and battles of life and death commanded by masked facilitators. Asher is forced to rely on his instincts and his weapon. He must navigate this treacherous world, both solo and with teams, and contend with other players, each harboring their own motives and ambitions. Confronted with unimaginable challenges, every day unveils a new hurdle, and each victory is bitterly earned. In this world intent on crushing him, Asher must fight to survive.

Era Gualtieri lives his life on permanent hard mode. His right leg is gone, his hometown was bombed into toxic waste, and he's elvish in an age when pointy ears are the mother of all "kick me" signs. He's spent the past four years hopping trains and shoplifting just to survive, with only his flying sword to keep him safe. Now, he's suddenly the only guy on the planet who's legally allowed to stop the new Dark Lord.

After some unsettling news brought to them by an unexpected messenger, Prince Edgar fled the Raid Dungeon to hurry back to his kingdom, leaving Derek as the impromptu leader. Being concerned about his people on the outside, Derek chose to rule with an iron fist to finish the dungeon as soon as possible. This choice didn’t make him any friends, but he didn’t need any for it to work.

Fight, survive, adapt, and rely only on yourself. That is Derek’s creed and what's got him through the System Integration on Earth. Everything changed when the System came. Cute bunnies and beautiful butterflies became savage killing machines. Then the Invaders arrived with a single goal: to obtain ownership of this new habitable planet. War has raged ever since. None of this mattered much to Derek, aside from making living a little more perilous.

The virtual world of Barliona is a place of rest and entertainment - but not for everyone. It has become a survival arena for Daniel Mahan after he was sentenced to eight years in its virtual jail. Mahan has been through it all: the back-breaking work in the mines, betrayal by other prisoners, and finally, the retrial which has released him into Barliona's common world. What more could one want? Mahan could have kept a low profile and enjoyed relative freedom while serving the rest of his time.

With unforgettable characters, a sweeping backdrop, and passionate storytelling, this is a fantasy debut to rival that of Robert Jordan. Filled with adventure and bloodshed, pageantry and piracy, mystery and menace, Assassin's Apprentice is the story of a royal house and the young man who is destined to chart its course through tempests of change.