Best of
Epic-Fantasy

2010

The Way of Kings, Part 2


Brandon Sanderson - 2010
    Heaven. But then the Voidbringers assaulted and captured heaven, casting out God and men. Men took root on Roshar, the world of storms. And the Voidbringers followed ...They came against man ten thousand times. To help them cope, the Almighty gave men powerful suits of armor and mystical weapons, known as Shardblades. Led by ten angelic Heralds and ten orders of knights known as Radiants, mankind finally won.Or so the legends say. Today, the only remnants of those supposed battles are the Shardblades, the possession of which makes a man nearly invincible on the battlefield. The entire world is at war with itself - and has been for centuries since the Radiants turned against mankind. Kings strive to win more Shardblades, each secretly wishing to be the one who will finally unite all of mankind under a single throne.On a world scoured down to the rock by terrifying hurricanes that blow through every few days is a young spearman, forced into the army of a Shardbearer, led to war against an enemy he doesn't understand and doesn't really want to fight.What happened deep in mankind's past?Why did the Radiants turn against mankind, and what happened to the magic they used to wield?

The Way of Kings


Brandon Sanderson - 2010
    Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soilless ground. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter.It has been centuries since the fall of the ten consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor that transform ordinary men into near-invincible warriors. Men trade kingdoms for Shardblades. Wars were fought for them, and won by them.One such war rages on a ruined landscape called the Shattered Plains. There, Kaladin, who traded his medical apprenticeship for a spear to protect his little brother, has been reduced to slavery. In a war that makes no sense, where ten armies fight separately against a single foe, he struggles to save his men and to fathom the leaders who consider them expendable.Brightlord Dalinar Kholin commands one of those other armies. Like his brother, the late king, he is fascinated by an ancient text called The Way of Kings. Troubled by over-powering visions of ancient times and the Knights Radiant, he has begun to doubt his own sanity.Across the ocean, an untried young woman named Shallan seeks to train under an eminent scholar and notorious heretic, Dalinar's niece, Jasnah. Though she genuinely loves learning, Shallan's motives are less than pure. As she plans a daring theft, her research for Jasnah hints at secrets of the Knights Radiant and the true cause of the war.The result of over ten years of planning, writing, and world-building, The Way of Kings is but the opening movement of the Stormlight Archive, a bold masterpiece in the making.Speak again the ancient oaths:Life before death.Strength before weakness.Journey before Destination.and return to men the Shards they once bore.The Knights Radiant must stand again.

The Way of Kings, Part 1


Brandon Sanderson - 2010
    Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soilless ground. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter.It has been centuries since the fall of the ten consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor that transform ordinary men into near-invincible warriors. Men trade kingdoms for Shardblades. Wars are fought for them, and won by them.One such war is about to swallow up a soldier, a brightlord and a young woman scholar.Widely acclaimed for his work completing Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time saga, Brandon Sanderson now begins a grand cycle of his own, one every bit as ambitious and immersive.

BookRags Summary: A Storm of Swords


BookRags - 2010
    Martin is a fantasy novel, the third in the series, preceded by A Clash of Kings. It begins in the final months of the year 299 in the land of the Seven Kingdoms and concerns the aftermath of a war for the Iron Throne. Little battles are raging to settle where the rewards of the war will fall, for the one who holds the Iron Throne rules the kingdom.

Raymond E. Feist's Magician Master


Bryan J.L. Glass - 2010
    Feist.It has been three years since the siege of Crydee. The three boys who once were the closest of friends are now worlds apart: Pug, a slave of the Tsurani, on the verge of becoming a full-blown magician; Tomas, a warrior amongst the elves, losing his humanity to the enchanted armor he wears; and Arutha, the prince of Crydee, struggling to keep his kingdom together against the tide of invasion. Don't miss a moment of the legendary battle as it reaches its fever pitch.

Rise of Empire


Michael J. Sullivan - 2010
    THE TRUE HEIR REMAINS HIDDEN. A ROGUE'S SECRET COULD CHANGE EVERYTHING.War has come to Melengar and once more Royce and Hadrian are hired to make a desperate gamble and form an alliance with the Nationalists whom are fighting the Imperialists in the south. As the power of the Nyphron Empire grows, so does Royce's suspicion that the wizard Esrahaddon is using the thieves as pawns in his own grab for power. To find the truth, he must unravel the secret of Hadrian's past--what he discovers may end their friendship and break Riyria in two.

Distinctions: Prologue to Towers of Midnight


Robert Jordan - 2010
    The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass.What was, what will be, and what is,May let fall under the Shadow.Let the Dragon ride again on the winds of time.In the Prologue to Towers of Midnight, book thirteen of The Wheel of Time, Lan Mandragoran rides on toward death; Perrin Aybara, Lord Goldeneyes, has a disturbing dream; Galad leads the Whitecloaks into harm’s way; one who has left humanity behind creeps through the Blight; and the Blight border faces invasion.As with the previous four titles in The Wheel of Time series, this prologue from Robert Jordan’s Towers of Midnight, completed by Brandon Sanderson, is available for sale before the book’s official release date (November 2, 2010).

The Black Prism


Brent Weeks - 2010
    He is high priest and emperor, a man whose power, wit, and charm are all that preserves a tenuous peace. Yet Prisms never last, and Guile knows exactly how long he has left to live.When Guile discovers he has a son, born in a far kingdom after the war that put him in power, he must decide how much he's willing to pay to protect a secret that could tear his world apart.

The Death Gate Cycle Novels: The Death Gate Cycle, Into the Labyrinth, the Hand of Chaos, Dragon Wing, Serpent Mage, the Seventh Gate, Fire Sea


Books LLC - 2010
    Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: The Death Gate Cycle, Into the Labyrinth, the Hand of Chaos, Dragon Wing, Serpent Mage, the Seventh Gate, Fire Sea, Elven Star. Source: Wikipedia. Free updates online. Not illustrated. Excerpt: The Death Gate Cycle is a seven-part series of fantasy novels written by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. The main conflict is between two powerful races, the Sartan and the Patryns, which branched off from humans following a nuclear holocaust. Centuries prior to the events of the series, the Sartan attempted to end the conflict by sundering the earth into four elemental realms, and imprisoning the Patryn in a fifth prison world, the Labyrinth. The Sartan took up stewardship of the elemental realms, but soon mysteriously lost contact with each other and disappeared. Centuries later, a Patryn known as Xar escaped the Labyrinth, and started returning to the Labyrinth to rescue others. He learned how to access the other worlds and dreamed of freeing all his people from the Labyrinth and conquering the other worlds. The books follow the fiercely independent Haplo, a Patryn agent sent to scout the elemental worlds and throw them into chaos in preparation for his Lord's conquest of them. Weis and Hickman created five distinct fantasy worlds during the course of the series, along with developing the cultures of five major races, their unique Patryn and Sartan, and the common fantasy races of dwarves, elves, and humans. "Margaret and I have always tried to take fantasy literature in new directions. Krynn is a world wholly distinct from Earth, unlike Tolkien's Middle-earth. Time travel itself was a science-fiction notion we applied to fantasy. We have even written fantasies taking place in the far future (The Death Gate Cycle) " Tracy Hickman, The Annotated Dragonlan...More: http: //booksllc.net/?id=121546

The Way of Kings (1 of 5)


Brandon Sanderson - 2010
    Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soilless ground. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter.It has been centuries since the fall of the 10 consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor that transform ordinary men into near-invincible warriors. Wars were fought for them, and won by them. One such war rages on the Shattered Plains. There, Kaladin has been reduced to slavery. In a war that makes no sense, where 10 armies fight separately against a single foe, he struggles to save his men and to fathom the leaders who consider them expendable.Brightlord Dalinar Kholin commands one of those other armies. Like his brother, the late king, he is fascinated by an ancient text called The Way of Kings. Troubled by visions of ancient times and the Knights Radiant, he has begun to doubt his own sanity.Across the ocean, an untried young woman named Shallan seeks to train under an eminent scholar and notorious heretic, Dalinar's niece, Jasnah. Though she genuinely loves learning, Shallan's motives are less than pure. As she plans a daring theft, her research for Jasnah hints at secrets of the Knights Radiant and the true cause of the war.Director Rose Supan says, “Brandon Sanderson is at the top of his game with THE STORMLIGHT ARCHIVES. It's an honor to direct this story. The actors as well as our production team are thrilled to be a part of the process as well. I can proudly proclaim that the listener is in for a truly immersive experience!”

The Complete Lyonesse


Jack Vance - 2010
    A land of mystery, strange beauty, high adventure and arcane magic. Kings are at war, opposing magicians devise ever more cunning stratagems. It is a land where princesses and changelings both can become embroiled in political rivalries and the quest for the grail. Jack Vance's Complete Lyonesse is a perfect addition to the series, contains Suldrun's Garden, The Green Pearl, and Madouc (the novel for which Vance won the World Fantasy Award). The Gollancz Black Books have proved to be an immensely successful formula for getting well loved stories into the hands of people who also love well made books.

The Way of Kings (2 of 5)


Brandon Sanderson - 2010
    Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soilless ground. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter.It has been centuries since the fall of the 10 consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor that transform ordinary men into near-invincible warriors. Wars were fought for them, and won by them. One such war rages on the Shattered Plains. There, Kaladin has been reduced to slavery. In a war that makes no sense, where 10 armies fight separately against a single foe, he struggles to save his men and to fathom the leaders who consider them expendable.Brightlord Dalinar Kholin commands one of those other armies. Like his brother, the late king, he is fascinated by an ancient text called The Way of Kings. Troubled by visions of ancient times and the Knights Radiant, he has begun to doubt his own sanity.Across the ocean, an untried young woman named Shallan seeks to train under an eminent scholar and notorious heretic, Dalinar's niece, Jasnah. Though she genuinely loves learning, Shallan's motives are less than pure. As she plans a daring theft, her research for Jasnah hints at secrets of the Knights Radiant and the true cause of the war.Director Rose Supan says, “Brandon Sanderson is at the top of his game with THE STORMLIGHT ARCHIVES. It's an honor to direct this story. The actors as well as our production team are thrilled to be a part of the process as well. I can proudly proclaim that the listener is in for a truly immersive experience!”

Novels by R. A. Salvatore: The Icewind Dale Trilogy, Transitions, the Demonwars Saga, the Dark Elf Trilogy, Legacy of the Drow


Books LLC - 2010
    Commentary (novels not included). Pages: 27. Chapters: The Icewind Dale Trilogy, The DemonWars Saga, Transitions, Gauntlgrym, The Dark Elf Trilogy, Legacy of the Drow, The Hunter's Blades Trilogy, Vector Prime, Paths of Darkness, Tarzan: The Epic Adventures, The Highwayman, The Woods Out Back, The Cleric Quintet, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Chronicles of Ynis Aielle, The Demon Awakens, Immortalis, Trial by Fire, The Demon Spirit, The Demon Apostle, Stone of Tymora, The Dragon King, The Sword of Bedwyr, Luthien's Gamble, Spearwielder's Tales, Dragonslayer's Return, The Dragon's Dagger. Excerpt: The Icewind Dale Trilogy is a trilogy of novels written by R.A. Salvatore, a SciFi and fantasy author. The events depicted in the trilogy follow the events of The Dark Elf Trilogy, although the former was written beforehand. It then continues from the Halfling's Gem onto the next series, Legacy of the Drow. The Icewind Dale Trilogy contains three books: The Crystal Shard, Streams of Silver, and The Halfling's Gem. The trilogy tells the tale of the legendary drow, or dark elf ranger, Drizzt Do'Urden, the mighty barbarian warrior, Wulfgar, the tricky halfling Regis, a dwarf king, Bruenor, and Bruenor's adopted human daughter Catti-brie. The first of Salvatore's Forgotten Realms series, it describes the events that created some of the best-known characters in Forgotten Realms. The final book of this series The Halfling's Gem appeared in the New York Times Best seller list. Forgotten Realms: The Icewind Dale Trilogy series listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database In recent years, these and other books featuring the character Drizzt Do'Urden have been rebranded as installments of The Legend of Drizzt: current publications of the Icewind Dale Trilogy are identified on their covers as books IV, V, and VI of that series. Even i...

Cephrael's Hand


Melissa McPhail - 2010
    One man holds the secret to reverting this decline: Bjorn van Gelderan, a dangerous and enigmatic man whose shocking betrayal three centuries past earned him a traitor’s brand. It is the Adept Vestal Raine D’Lacourte’s mission to learn what Bjorn knows in the hope of salvaging his race. But first he’ll have to find him...In the kingdom of Dannym...the young Prince Ean val Lorian faces a tenuous future as the last living heir to the coveted Eagle Throne. When his blood-brother is slain during a failed assassination, Ean embarks on a desperate hunt for the man responsible. Yet his advisors have their own agendas, and his quest for vengeance leads him ever deeper into a sinuous plot masterminded by a mysterious and powerful man, the one they call First Lord...In the Nadori desert...tormented by the missing pieces of his life, a soldier named Trell heads off to uncover the truth of his shadowed past. But when disaster places him in the debt of Wildlings sworn to the First Lord, Trell begins to suspect a deadlier, darker secret motivating them.Librarian's note: See alternate cover edition of ASIN B0046A9VLO here.

Steven Erikson 8 Books Collection Set, Vol. 1-8


Steven Erikson - 2010
    Titles in This SetToll the HoundsReaper's GaleThe BonehuntersMidnight TidesHouse of ChainsMemories of IceDeadhouse GateGarden of the Moon

Oath of Fealty


Elizabeth Moon - 2010
    But as Moon’s devoted fans know, she started her career as a fantasy writer. The superb trilogy known as The Deed of Paksenarrion is widely judged to be one of the great post-Tolkien fantasies, a masterpiece of sustained world-building and realistic military action. Now Moon returns to this thrilling realm for the first time in nearly twenty years. The result: another classic in the making.Thanks to Paks’s courage and sacrifice, the long-vanished heir to the half-elven kingdom of Lyonya has been revealed as Kieri Phelan, a formidable mercenary captain who earned a title and enemies in the neighboring kingdom of Tsaia. Now, as Kieri ascends a throne he never sought, he must come to terms with his own half-elven heritage while protecting his new kingdom from his old enemies and those he has not yet discovered.Meanwhile, in Tsaia, Prince Mikeli prepares for his own coronation. But when an assassination attempt nearly succeeds, Mikeli suddenly faces the threat of a coup. Acting swiftly, Mikeli strikes at the powerful family behind the attack: the Verrakaien, magelords possessing ancient sorcery, steeped in death and evil. Mikeli’s survival and that of Tsaia depend on the only Verrakai whose magery is not tainted with innocent blood.   Two kings stand at a pivotal point in the history of their worlds. For dark forces are gathering against them, knit in a secret conspiracy more sinister and far more ancient than they can imagine. And even Paks may find her gods-given magic and peerless fighting skills stretched to the limit and beyond.

Sapphire Flute


Karen E. Hoover - 2010
    In the midst of a volcanic eruption miles outside of her village, Ember discovers she can see magic and change the appearance of things at will. Against her mother's wishes, she leaves for the mage trials only to be kidnapped before arriving. In trying to escape, she discovers she has inherited her father's secret-a secret that places her in direct conflict with her father's greatest enemy. At the same time, Kayla is given guardianship of the sapphire flute and told not to play it. The evil mage C'Tan has been searching for it for decades and the sound alone is enough to call her. For the flute to be truly safe, Kayle must find its birthplace in the mountains high above Javak. The girls' paths are set on a collision course...a course that C'Tan is determined to prevent at all costs.

A Beacon of Hope


Walter E. Mark - 2010
    It is a world of great technological advancement. It is a world that has been at peace for a hundred years.While the world known as Kosundo by its inhabitants goes about its usual business, an ancient prophesy ominously predicts that the time of the soulless has come. Then, a mysterious man lurks about a secret city. A forgotten miscreation is plotting revenge. An emperor is going mad. A terrible weapon threatens to wreak destruction. And finally, a being of absolute evil is planning to make the world his own.But a prophet reveals a beacon of hope and tells of choices that need to be made. Each choice will determine whether another beacon of hope shines forth or if the darkness of evil prevails. A Beacon of Hope is the first book in The Sixth World of Men series.

Seared by Desire


Jennifer T. Alli - 2010
    Defeating the Malachites, all that stand between him and becoming King of the vampires and the demon within himself, battling desperately for release. His attention stretched thin he has no time for women but Sara, his fiery bride won’t be denied.A burning touch…With a deadly curse hanging over her head, Sara knows her time is short. Placing her life in Lucian's hands is a risk she knows she must take and one her innocent heart gladly makes for Lucian makes her body burn and her soul fly. Never had hot and cold reacted so combustively. Sara’s presence pushes Lucian to the brink of madness, her nearness making him crazed with the need for her blood. Though his fangs ache with longing, to bite her could condemn them both but the attraction between them is too strong to be denied. As they race headlong towards a fiery conclusion will they emerge unscathed to will the flames of desire consume them both?

Finder


Terri-Lynne DeFino - 2010
    Hounds rule the streets with fear and fists. Former highwaymen now call themselves Merchants. Spices, rare since the desert swallowed the Spice Way, are forbidden to all but the wealthy and powerful. Ethen's ability to Find lost objects has helped him survive in this world; now, it's going to make him rich. The Merchant Juddah Luash has offered him a fortune, but not for an object he wants Found. Juddah wants Ethen to Find a person, the escaped slave, Zihariel. To find her brother, sold after the Purge of Calaira, Zihariel has fled her luxurious life as a musician performing for the wealthiest households in the desert. She soon discovers the world is much bigger than she ever suspected, teeming with those who see her only as a pooni, an object to be bought and sold, used until she is used up. Not even her music belongs to her, but to the Dommi-sa who etches his mark onto her skin. From the deserts of Therk to the island of Moscrea and across the Bloodbane Sea, Ethen and Zihariel lie and thieve their way to the great city of Bosbana. There, Ethen's promised fortune and Zihariel's greatest performance await - unless they sacrifice all to flee together into the Dragonbacks and become fugitives for the rest of their lives.

Victory at Ostagar


Arsinoe de Blassenville - 2010
    The Blight, however was far from over. All other origins included, plus Hawke and his companions. Cousland/Loghain, Morrigan/Anders, Surana/Zevran, Fergus/Anora, and more.

A Warrior's Tale


L.T. Suzuki - 2010
    Besieged by the enemy from the east and now immersed in war with soldiers of the Dark Army from the west, Nayla Treeborn and her people are about to engage in the next great war that will decide the fate of all mankind and Elves in Imago. In a desperate attempt to deliver word to the Elf king of Wyndwood andthose of the alliance for a call to arms, she is the last surviving messenger sent forth by her people. Now, trapped in a storm at the top of the world, she fights to survive the deadly elements in a strange land.Despised by Elves and shunned by mortals, she must now find the courage to make a place in this world, and the compassion to save those who keep her at arm's length. This adventure recounts the defining moments in Nayla's life that had forged her into a deadly warrior, a great captain and a legend amongst the people of Imago.