Epic Literature

Working as overnight tech support, James Lyle has long said he’d do anything to escape the boredom. But his commitment to excitement is tested when a slight coincidence one shift sends him to a different part of his office building . . . and he discovers a stairwell that contains not stairs but rather a landscape of seemingly infinite cubicles against a distant horizon. Unwilling (and unable) to stay away, James and a few of his trusted friends begin to explore this endless maze of supernatural business ennui.

On Tempris, time magic is outlawed, and suspected time mages are hunted. Humans are second-class citizens, shunned by the immortal fey that live on the island. They even have a name for their kind: Shardless. Taly is one of the lucky humans. Taken in by a fey noble and his family, she's lived a good life, surrounded by people she loves. But when an accidental brush with magic causes her to see things - ghostly apparitions that give her small glimpses into the future - it has deadly consequences. The Sanctorum has returned to the island, and if they find her, they'll kill her.

Peggy is a Torch, able to see the fire burning in each person's heart. She can follow the paths of each person's future, and know each person's most intimate secrets. From the moment of Alvin Maker's birth, when the Unmaker first strove to kill him, she has protected him. Now they are married, and Peggy is a part of Alvin's heart as well as his life. But Alvin's destiny has taken them on separate journeys.

Kellen Tavadon, son of the Arch-Mage Lycaelon, thought he knew the way the world worked. His father, leading the wise and benevolent Council of Mages, protected and guided the citizens of the Golden City of the Bells. Young Mages in training---all men, for women were unfit to practice magic---memorized the intricate details of High Magic and aspired to seats on the council.

What do you desire in exchange for your soul? Everlasting youth? A million dollars? Women? Power? Bored high-schooler Adam Staples wants for nothing. Such an offer could only be a prank, right? Who would have thought that the prankster is a demon in disguise? After selling his soul and turning into a half-demon, Adam finds himself orphaned and dragged into a realm outside of the world he knew. Training under his benefactor and enrolling in a school made for those who were gifted with powers, Adam ventures around the Outworld to hunt down the demon that turned his life inside out....

Live fast, die young. Tam Hashford is tired of working at her local pub, slinging drinks for world-famous mercenaries and listening to the bards sing of adventure and glory in the world beyond her sleepy hometown. When the biggest mercenary band of all rolls into town, led by the infamous Bloody Rose, Tam jumps at the chance to sign on as their bard. It's adventure she wants - and adventure she gets as the crew embark on a quest that will end in one of two ways: glory or death.

The game is Conquer, played for the king's amusement by the most notorious criminals and ambitious lordlings. Aron Stone, street rat turned commander of the king's First Legion, doesn't have patience for pointless games. But when a series of unfortunate events earns him the king's ire, he is forced to participate. Armed with a ragtag troop of dwarves, a beautiful but short-tempered sorceress, and a doting mistress, Aron must grow his forces, locate valuable weapons and magical artifacts, and win the day. Only complete victory will allow him to escape the arena and get his revenge.

Tian, a Cultivator at the precipice of ascension, is thwarted in her quest for immortality. Defeated, she escapes to another world with Levels, Classes, magic, and monsters. She becomes a Lost Soul. Her core begins to dwindle, but she does not abandon her goal. Working with a group of rebels in this new world, she opposes the unkillable tyrant Galgom to learn his secrets. Against his army of machines wielding laser guns and laser swords, she will cultivate her new powers, achieving Feats as she seeks her antidote: immortality.

Raysha will do whatever it takes to fix her broken soul, even if it means venturing into the unknown with nothing but her brother, an enchanted water bottle, and her fierce determination. The only one without the ability to cultivate aeon from the world, Raysha has been ostracized her whole life for her weakness. In a world where true masters of aeon have slaughtered gods, Raysha's future in her village is limited to babysitting pre-awakened children.

Six years have passed since Hualiama and Grandion defied the Island-World's most sacred law. They burned the heavens together as rider and dragon. For his crime, Grandion the Tourmaline dragon suffered exile and imprisonment. The dragons forced Hualiama to forget her past. Now the suns must set upon the age of the ancient dragons. Amaryllion Fireborn, last of his kind, bequeaths Hualiama an astonishing legacy.

In the Prime Kingdoms, the system dominates everything. It dictates one’s strength, skills, and power. It spawns dungeons and guides the actions of their monsters. But every system has its limits, and it’s about to push four oddball adventurers to theirs.

This is the story of Stavin Kel'Aniston. A boy trained as a warrior, he serves his people as a caravan guard to obtain gold for their community. Stavin earned dragon-scale armor from the dragon on the mountain for his bravery, but the gift of the dragon comes at a price. Thieves, brigands, and ne'er-do-wells of every kind are attracted to Stavin. As the summer passes, Stavin fights for his life and the honor of his name.

Jarl Beckström dreams of one day becoming a great warrior. Sadly, he had the misfortune of being lowborn-classless, unable to level up. He lives the mundane life of a poor mud-farmer, subjected to the whims of the infamous battleborn and the magical fireborn. But legend says that deeds of great courage can change a person's class. When the Clan Lord's son unexpectedly disappears, Jarl sees an opportunity to prove himself a hero and rise above the lowly station of his birth. He goes against the traditions of his people to seek his destiny...and possibly even his death.

Elaine is an orphan girl who has grown up in a world where magical ability brings power. Her limited talent was enough to ensure a magical training, but she's very inexperienced and was lucky to get a position working in the Great Library. Now, the Grand Sorcerer - the most powerful magician of them all - is dying, although initially that makes little difference to Elaine; she certainly doesn't have the power to compete for higher status in the Golden City. But all that changes when she triggers a magical trap....

Stephen R. Platt is widely respected for his incisive nonfiction, particularly in regard to his knowledge and understanding of China. With Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom, Platt details the absorbing narrative of the Taiping Rebellion, which resulted in the loss of 20 million lives. Occurring in the 1850s, this is the story of a cultural movement characterized by intriguing personages such as influential military strategist Zeng Guofan and brilliant Taiping leader Hong Rengan.

Sir Gawain, First Knight of the Realm, is tasked by his older sister the Queen to travel to the edges of their kingdom, where a beast is flaming villagers and has the locals ready to form a mob and hunt it down themselves. His mission is to find the dragon, stop the violence, and do what he needs to maintain the peace. His journey puts him in the heart of a confrontation with the dragon, but instead of saving the villagers, it is the dragon that needs rescuing. Zephyr, a fire dragon and an escaped slave, needs protection, time to heal, and a chance at a life full of hope.

Hugo and Nebula Award finalist Robin Hobb crafts intricate fantasy tales featuring larger-than-life characters and exotic landscapes. Nevare Burvelle survives the King’s Cavalla Academy—where nepotism and corruption reign—to become a soldier in the Gernian king’s army. As he and his fellow soldiers are thrust onto the front lines of the king’s brutal territorial expansion campaign, they struggle against the Plainspeople—forest-dwellers who possess a powerful magic long dismissed by the Gernians.

My twin brother is a Wizard and thinks he's the only magician in the family. It's actually a little funny that he hasn't suspected anything different over the last 17 years - with my constantly need to keep his idiot face out of danger and stupidity - but that's not today's problem. You see, someone's trying to kill him.

The Worldwalkers of legend are beings touched by Fate and transported from another realm, tasked with a grand destiny. Traditionally, they prevent great cataclysms or the fall of empires. Whatever their undertaking, their appearance brings about momentous change. It’s been some two hundred years since the last Great Game, but the time has come again. Seven are chosen, and the game begins once more . . .

The kingdoms are shattering. A tyrant rules from the north. The Dragon clan, once exiled beyond the edges of the empire, has joined forces with a bloodthirsty, opportunistic king in the south. And the crown prince of Rooks is running out of options to keep the people and places he loves safe. His best chance to save his world and take the crown from his mad father may lie in the most dangerous of those exiled Dragons-a woman who is just as likely to ruin him as she is to save him.