Book picks similar to
King's Exile by William L. Culbertson


fantasy
dragons
i-think-ive-read
xeno-dragons

Dragon Slippers


Jessica Day George - 2007
    She can't believe her aunt wants to sacrifice her to the local dragon. It's a ploy to lure a heroic knight so that he will fight the dragon, marry Creel out of chivalrous obligation, and lift the entire family out of poverty. Creel isn't worried. After all, nobody has seen a dragon in centuries.But when the beast actually appears, Creel not only bargains with him for her life, she also ends up with a rare bit of treasure from his hoard, not gold or jewels, but a pair of simple blue slippers-or so she thinks. It's not until later that Creel learns a shocking truth: She possesses not just any pair of shoes, but ones that could be used to save her kingdom, which is on the verge of war, or destroy it.

Rise of the Ranger


Philip C. Quaintrell - 2017
    A thousand years is a long time for an immortal race to see the truth of things, a truth that has remained unsaid for a millennium - elves are superior. They are faster, stronger and connected to the magical realm in a way that man could never grasp. Illian should belong to them. Unaware of the shadow that looms in the east, the six kingdoms of man are fractured, unallied, and clawing at each other’s gates for more power.This isn’t just war set to ravage the land, but a slaughter - the world of man cannot hope to survive.Thrown into the heart of this war is a man known by many names; an Outlander of the wilds, an assassin, a ranger. Asher was born a thousand years ago, to a life he doesn’t remember. Forty years of brutal training and killing for money has beaten the earliest years of his life away, leaving his ties to the oldest of evils a mystery to all…RISE OF THE RANGER LAUNCHES AN UNMISSABLE EPIC FANTASY SERIES.

Stonebriar Academy: School for Dragon Riders - Book Two


Thomas Boyhan - 2017
    First he had to win admission when only one hundred applicants would be selected from over four hundred. Then Jamie had to learn how to use the power of a Dragon belt and learn to fly with a Dragon. Added to all of this, against all tradition, Jamie has been bonded to a Dragon in his first year. But Jamie overcomes all of those difficulties and even helps his bonded Dragon, Tomith, whom he has nicknamed Tommy, to learn how to fly. Now Jamie and Tommy face the second semester, and in this semester they will continue to struggle— but not only with their classes. They have now been caught up in the Stonebriar House Championship. Each year, the five Houses—Blackburn, Warwick, Aubondale, Waverly, and Pembroke—all compete for the coveted House Championship. Jamie’s and Tommy’s House, Aubondale, has finished in last place for the previous seven years. The overriding passion of every student in Aubondale is to finally get their house out of last place. To help accomplish this, Jamie and Tommy will have to compete in the school’s Dragon races, something they know nothing about. Even as Jamie and Tommy settle into the day-to-day struggles of school life at Stonebriar, they have been marked for capture or assassination by a shadowy organization known at the Sisterhood. For decades, the Sisterhood has been seeking to fulfill a prophecy that will grant the sisters total control over all the nations of Aurellius—along with immortality. But, in order to achieve their goal, they must eliminate Jamie and Tommy. Jamie’s and Tommy’s greatest challenge will not be helping get their House out of last place—their greatest challenge will be to simply survive.

Cloak and Spider


David Dalglish - 2013
    "Every king must have his heirs, and I will have heirs worthy of my legend..."Thren Felhorn is a legend of the underworld, the leader of the powerful Spider Guild, father to the Watcher of Veldaren, and the most feared man in a city flooded with crime and death.Cloak and Spider contains six stories chronicling Thren's tutelage under the fearsome Darkhand, his bloody rise to fame, the creation of his infamous guild, and the birth of his son, Aaron, who would grow up to be a legend all his own.Word count: 29,100

The Dragon Sage


Jay Lynn - 2018
    Fans of Throne of Glass and A Game of Thrones will not be able to put down this epic fantasy adventure. Standing alone in a dark cell, Alec waits for the death he cannot seem to escape. The pungent smell of sweat and blood are permanently absorbed into his scarred skin. Though he can no longer hear them, the blood thirsty roars of the crowds still fill his ears. He knows his master won’t allow him to leave the arena alive this time. As a light calling out in the darkness, Jade appears offering Alec salvation. He would do anything to escape this fate, including traveling to a foreign land as her bodyguard. Freedom is not what Alec imagined. Stafford’s Battlemaster hates him, his fellow soldiers ignore him, and their healer refuses to treat him. Outside the city’s walls, a mysterious dragon becomes Alec’s constant shadow. Within, heated confrontations with Jade awaken a different type of fire Alec fears he will not be able to hide. Suddenly gifted with powerful magic, Alec’s once dormant abilities show him a world much different from the darkness he has known. Both new friends and dangerous challenges await the spirited warrior as he sets out to find his place in this enchanted kingdom. The journey may prove even more treacherous then the arena as Alec discovers everything he thought he knew about his past is a lie.

Dragon's Gold


Piers Anthony - 1987
    When Kelvin was a child, his mother read to him from the Book of Prophecy and he asked what the poem meant. Now he was about to learn. The Kingdom of Rud languishes under the heel of a usurper; an evil sorcerer has taken the throne in the name of his wicked daughter. Even deep in the forest, away from all power, the people tremble and await the day of prophecy's fulfillment. It cannot come too soon: Charlain and her children are soon to lose their home to the tax collector. But Kelvin and Jon have other plans. they have found a dragon's territory, where scales of purest gold, shed by the dragon, lie free on the ground for anyone with courage, or innocence, to take. And the words of Mouvar the prophet echo across Rud.

Breeder


Casey Hays - 2014
    It has no name; it is full of secrets.Its women survive because they seem to have found a remedy for war; its men survive because the women let them. They all survive because Fate allows it.Kate never thought much about Fate until she decided not to believe in it anymore. Destined to become a breeder, she wakes up on her sixteenth birthday determined to defy this duty at all cost. It is a heavy price. For her open rebellion, Mona, the Village counsel leader, drags her to the Pit and forces her to confront her mate for the first time.He is not what Kate expected.Despite Mona's fierce punishments for Kate's disobedience, the tug of her heart grows stronger; it beckons her away from this life and lures her toward the truth about herself, about her village, and about the boy assigned to be her mate.The questions bring her hope... but the answers?They terrify her.

Dagger - The Light at the End of the World


Walt Popester - 2013
    Raised as a rogue. Hidden from everyone. Searched for by everybody. The power within is waking up. Are you ready?   Dagger is a street kid, growning up in a city ruled by a brutal totalitarianism.He came into the world through a blasphemous ritual to resurrect his father. Too bad the father in question is a bloodthirsty god whose soul was banished at the dawn of time by his brother and rival, the god Angra. The boy is hidden in a guild of rogues, where an albino girl is the only person in the world who does not consider him a monster because of his red eyes. One night the Gorgors, servants of the exiled god and incarnation of the deepest nightmares, set fire to the entire city to flush him out, and Dagger realizes that there is no refuge for him. Soon, he will realize that no one can fight against himself. Note from the author: I wrote a Dark fantasy which purpose was breaking with tradition, addressing the narrative towards more existential issues than the old and overused formula of evil against good. In Dagger, the struggle between good and evil is not clear, nor easily identifiable. It is a tormented process, internal to the protagonist, with an outcome difficult to predict. I do not sell pre-cooked messages to the reader. I decided to create a text that would be open to multiple interpretations.

A Turn of Light


Julie E. Czerneda - 2013
    and keep her from leaving the valley. But Jenn longs to see the world, and thinking that a husband will help her reach this goal, she decides to create one using spells. Of course, everything goes awry, and suddenly her "invisible friend" has been transformed into a man. But he is not the only newcomer to Marrowdell, and far from the most dangerous of those who are suddenly finding their way to the valley...

The Last Namsara


Kristen Ciccarelli - 2017
    But where there is light, there must be darkness—and so there was also the Iskari. The child of blood and moonlight. The destroyer. The death-bringer.These are the legends that Asha, daughter of the king of Firgaard, has grown up learning in hushed whispers, drawn to the forbidden figures of the past. But it isn’t until she becomes the fiercest, most feared dragon slayer in the land that she takes on the role of the next Iskari—a lonely destiny that leaves her feeling more like a weapon than a girl.Asha conquers each dragon and brings its head to the king, but no kill can free her from the shackles that await at home: her betrothal to the cruel commandant, a man who holds the truth about her nature in his palm. When she’s offered the chance to gain her freedom in exchange for the life of the most powerful dragon in Firgaard, she finds that there may be more truth to the ancient stories than she ever could have expected. With the help of a secret friend—a slave boy from her betrothed’s household—Asha must shed the layers of her Iskari bondage and open her heart to love, light, and a truth that has been kept from her.

Witchsign


Den Patrick - 2018
    Since, the tyrannical Synod has worked hard to banish all manifestations of the arcane across the lands. However, children are still born bearing the taint of the arcane, known to all as witchsign. So each year the Emperor sends out his Vigilants across the continent to detect the arcane in these children. Those found tainted are taken, and never seen again. Steiner has always suspected his sister Kjellrunn of bearing witchsign. But when their father's attempt to protect her from the Invigilation backfires, it is Steiner who is mistakenly taken. However it is not death which awaits Steiner, but an Academy where the children with witchsign learn to master their powers - some at the cost of their lives. Steiner is determined to escape the Academy and protect his sister from this fate.But powerful enemies await him at every turn, and Steiner finds himself taken on a journey straight into the heart of the Empire's deepest secrets, which will force him to reconsider everything he has known about witchsign.

The Archmage


Whiskey Flowers - 2020
    Thishas prompted Queen Mildred to give Jonthan the title of Champion of Kirby, the first time a commoner has ever held the title. Despite his detractors Jonathan has been able to secure a place as the first official commoner to instruct at the Tower of Magic. Jonathan has made many enemies on his way to fame, some minor, some at the highest levels of mage culture. Many people want Jonathan stripped of both titles. It is only when the Downian Dragonknights decide to launch a full scale invasion that even Jonathan's detractors are willing to admit they need help. Join Jonathan as he transitions from Initiate on his quest to become Archmage.

House of Darken


Jaymin Eve - 2018
    While she finds this both weird and insulting, Emma has no actual intention of breaking these rules - until her guardians go missing. Now all bets are off. Only a single line separates her side of the street from the elites', and she's crossing it. Captured and held by Lexen and his brothers, she learns the rules are in place for a very good reason. There's a secret world hidden in this small town which goes far beyond the one she knows and understands. A world not for humans.

A Legacy of Light


Daniel Arenson - 2013
    Requiem lies cloaked in shadows. Tonight we say: We will fight. We will keep our light blazing."A Legacy of Light (The Dragon War, Book One) -- a new fantasy trilogy for fans of A Game of Thrones and The Lord of the RingsThe people of Requiem, an ancient kingdom, can grow wings and scales, breathe fire, and take flight as dragons. For years, Requiem's holy stars have blessed the kingdom with light and magic. But now a darkness falls.General Cadigus, traitor to the crown, has captured the throne. Bloodthirsty and cruel, he rules with an iron fist. He crushes his own people under his heel. He burns all foreign lands. The noble kingdom of Requiem fades; a dark empire rises.In the wilderness, a small light kindles. Rebellion brews. The rebels are haggard, outnumbered, and desperate. They hide in forests and ruins. They fight for the memory of Old Requiem, for a legacy of light.The Resistance is small, but its cry is loud: "The tyrant must fall."

Path of The Calm


Kris A. Hiatt - 2015
    But now unease has spread across the land as disagreements between factions threaten each other’s way of life. The Brothers of the Onneron College dedicate themselves to higher learning and to mastering Paths of magic. They wish to remain independent, but the Onneron Church feels threatened by their ability to heal and vies to take control of their order. Treace, bullied and belittled, is unaware of the plan his deceased father has for him. A mentor sets him upon a path to join the prestigious College. Even if he is accepted, the tides of change are coming. To Treace it’s not about where we end up, it’s the Paths we take to get there that matters. Path of The Calm is the first book in the epic series Saga of The Wolf that follows Treace as he grows into a young man. It explores the bonds of friendship, deception, life lessons, love, swordplay, and magic.