Best of
Epic-Fantasy

2022

Court of Assassins


Philip C. Quaintrell - 2022
    LEGEND. NIGHTFALL HAS LONG BEEN RUMOURED TO BE NOTHING MORE THAN WHISPERS ON THE BREEZE.IF ONLY IT WERE SO…In those halls of darkness, where children are taken from the world and given to shadow and dust, Asher is destined for that same fate. He will become the myth. He will become the legend. He will become the whisper of Death itself.That which he was is dead, forgotten. Now he is a blade in the dark, a weapon to be wielded by his masters. A killer.Yet, despite all his training and years of spilling blood, there is a crack in Asher’s conditioning. Something within him is broken, unbound even. A sliver of humanity has survived and dreams of freedom. Now, standing on a knife’s edge, his mind threatens to unravel, taking him from the only path he has ever known and away from the clutches of Nightfall.It has never been done. Exile is not a choice. It is a death sentence.But there is another life that calls to him, a life roaming the wilds and protecting the innocent from the monsters which would prey upon them. Hunting monsters, however, is no easy task, especially when Asher himself is hunted by those who would drag him back to Nightfall. Back to the darkness.

The Forgotten Realms: Book 2: Imperial Rand


Silvia Shaw - 2022
    Her time at Falcon’s Keep over, Savannah comes into her full power as the wielder of the sacred medallion. She seeks help in Arcadia to interpret the Prophecy Chart, the black magic spell that divides the Forgotten Realms from the rest of Rand. As well as having to battle sorcery to bring down the Wall, she faces the nearly impossible task of persuading the fierce Bramble Hawks to come out of their mountains. Meanwhile, the chief Dreamer, courtesan Jezzine, is assigned to protect Princess Fern, heir to the Arcadian throne, from the Crow assassins. But other evil forces are in play in Arcadia, for the Dark Hollow Wizards have a hidden agenda in the realm. Pela, now Supreme Commander, readies Rand’s armies for the invasion after centuries of peace. And as the world edges closer to war, fates are inextricably woven together, new alliances forged, and fabled Queens rise.

The Justice of Kings


Richard Swan - 2022
    As he unravels a web of secrets and lies, Vonvalt discovers a plot that might destroy his order once and for all – and bring down the entire Empire. As an Emperor's Justice, Sir Konrad Vonvalt always has the last word. His duty is to uphold the law of the empire using whatever tools he has at his disposal: whether it's his blade, the arcane secrets passed down from Justice to Justice, or his wealth of knowledge of the laws of the empire. But usually his reputation as one of the most revered—and hated—Justices is enough to get most any job done. When Vonvalt investigates the murder of a noblewoman, he finds his authority being challenged like never before. As the simple case becomes more complex and convoluted, he begins to pull at the threads that unravel a conspiracy that could see an end to all Justices, and a beginning to lawless chaos across the empire.

Dragon Queens


Kathleen de Plume - 2022
    Where has she fled to? Why has she gone? And why is the dragon stirring?Enter our hero. Gwen has been hunting wanted criminals for years, collecting bounties to provide for her mother and brother since the death of their father. The promise of an armful of gold for bringing the princess home is too good to ignore.But bringing her home doesn't solve anyone's problems. Gwen still has family to support, and Ava still has a miserable marriage to look forward to. How will they get over these hurdles? And what new ones will they create along the way?

Blade of Ghosts


Julian Gyll - 2022
    Only a brave few still stand against the darkness.Jason dreams of joining the glorious Shadowfront and battling the enemy known only as the Void. But as a lowly Pastfinder, he is denied that path and forced to serve as little more than a glorified scavenger.It is only when he chances upon the ruins of a long dead civilization that his fortunes change. Jason discovers a forgotten form of cultivation, one fueled by the ghosts of centuries-lost history and powerful, forbidden knowledge.For the first time in his life, Jason has the strength to join the fight against the shadows.But if his fellow tribesmen learn of his new power's cursed origins, the Void will be the least of his concerns...Inspired by the worlds of Xianxia and Wuxia, Julian Gyll brings a fresh, western fantasy take on the burgeoning cultivation genre.

Bones to the Wind (A Forging of Age, #1)


Tatiana Obey - 2022
    All Rasia needs to do is hunt down a gonda, hitch its tentacle ass to her windship, and haul it back home in record time. Easy. Or it would be if Rasia wasn’t stuck on the same team as Nico—a know-it-all, spoiled, grubworm who never does anything Rasia tells her to do.Nico doesn’t care about Rasia’s egotistical dreams of glory. This is her brother’s last chance to pass the Forging or her father is going to banish him from the family. She needs to scour the desert to find whatever team the bones placed him on and help him kill a gonda before it kills him.Too bad Nico and Rasia can’t get along to steer a windship straight.BONES TO THE WIND is a coming-of-age sword and sorcery fantasy adventure. Action-packed and humorous, the novel includes strong female characters, LGBTQIA+ representation, and mature themes.

The Lost Sentinel


Emma L. Adams - 2022
    Unlike their neighbours in the country of Aestin, whose Invokers wield the magic of the deities in exchange for glory and prestige, they leave the gods alone, and the gods extend the same courtesy to them.When Zeuten's last Sentinel disappears, Zelle, her granddaughter, intends to track her down. Instead she runs into an Aestinian stranger with no memories of his past, who claims to be looking for a long-lost Relic hidden in the mountains by the first Sentinels. To Zelle, the rumours of lost Relics are just stories told to trick gullible travellers, but the hordes of enemies on the stranger's tail suggest otherwise. Armed with nothing but her grandmother's sentient (and temperamental) magical staff, Zelle finds herself tasked with keeping them both alive.Between monstrous beasts, magical storms, and an enthusiastic but inept aspiring assassin and her dragon sidekick, Zelle has her work cut out if she wants to survive long enough to save her grandmother and prevent the destruction of a nation.Maybe Zeuten is in need of a few heroes after all…

The Wizard's Goddess


D.M. Sonntag - 2022
    But when the one he wants doesn’t want him back, he might have to change his infamous ways.Johana Calavetti knows there’s something more than life in her secluded village. When a marauder arrives on her island, she sees a chance for the adventure her heart craves.Tasked to be his guardian, she learns desire has a cost as an ancient sanctuary gets brought to light. She’ll have to make a choice between her people’s faith and her own."The Wizard’s Goddess" is a prequel novella in The Kingdom Isles series intended to be read after Book 2, "The Golden Wolf."