. . dating back to a time before time.When he brought college friends Maggie and Ian home to North Dakota, Torrie Thorsen anticipated a carefree vacation -- not werewolves, Norse gods and inconceivable worlds. But the Thorsen destiny leads them all to where the family's history began -- through secret portals into a place of legend and peril. For here, where the blade of Torrie's father once loyally served the House of the Sky, son and father both must suffer for ancient transgressions. And with war clouds gathering above the Middle Dominion, an unlikely champion will raise his sword in defense of captive friends . . . to prevent the fiery coming of the End of All Days.

    But after he purchased it for a million dollars, Ben Holiday discovered that there were a few details the ad had failed to mention. Such as the fact that the kingdom was falling into ruin. The barons refused to recognize a king and taxes hadn't been collected for years. The dragon, Strabo, was laying waste to the countryside, while the evil witch, Nightshade, was plotting to destroy no less than everything. And if that weren't enough for a prospective king to deal with, Ben soon learned that the Iron Mark, terrible lord of the demons, challenged all pretenders to the throne of Landover to a duel to the death - a duel no mere mortal could hope to win. But Ben Holiday had one human trait that even magic couldn't overcome. Ben Holiday was stubborn.

    Ice Crown is the story of Offlas Keil and his neice Roane's quest to unlock the valuable Forerunner power that resides in the famous Ice Crown of the planet Clio.

    Bound to him were three of the strangest humans he had ever encountered... a medieval Russian, and a fourth-century Hun, and a sacred priestess who worshiped him as a god. And all shared the same fate--pulled through a hole in time to a present which was ancient history. Together the quartet formed a strange alliance which none dared break. For not only were their own futures at stake... but the very future of the world they had found....

    IN THE AGE OF WIZARDS--the very earth was tortured by the power games of these immortal children of gods, till wizardry went too far, and the dragons flew to bring the wizards and the world down in flames. IN THE AGE OF MORTALS--the Elder Races have withdrawn almost completely from the world of humans. Gone, too, are the dreaded wizards. Or so the people of Ardhan believe, for unbeknownst to them, there is one wizard who still survives, a master of evil bent upon claiming lordship over the entire world. No mere mortal can stand against him, so the Elder Races have chosen to intervene one final time. Their gift to Ardhan is Crystal, the Child of the Grove, daughter of Power and the last-born wizard who will ever walk the world. And thus the battle lines are drawn, and the final war is about to begin...

    Strange fireballs race through the sky above the deepest trenches of the oceans. Something is about to show itself, something terrible and alien, a force capable of causing global catastrophe.

    In the time before the Confessors, when the world is a dark and dangerous place, where treason and treachery are the rule of the day, comes one heroic woman, Magda Searus, who has just lost her husband and her way in life.

    For decades, sorcerers and those associating with them were hunted to near extinction.But Seri, a Leiran noblewoman living in exile, is no stranger to defying the unjust laws of her land. She is sheltering a wanted fugitive who possesses unusual abilities-a fugitive with the fate of the realms in his hands...

    Is Raistlin truly dead?The answer lies in the new Dragonlance novella by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, which gazes into the future of Caramon and his mage-son, and into the dark nether-past of Raistlin.Untold tales of Krynn.Tales of sea monsters, dark elves, ice bears, hideous hydra-headed serpents, and loathsome draconian troops.Further adventures of the kender Tas; the innkeeper Otik and young Tika; the dwarf Flint and Tanis, leader of the companions; Caramon and Raistlin, twon brothers, one, a genial warrior, the other, a sickly magician and scholar.Nine short stories by superlative writers, plus an exciting new novella by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman.The Dragonlance Saga goes on!

    But one of the lessons that history teaches is that paradise is coveted and fought over. Successive waves of invaders have claimed—or tried to claim—those vineyards, rivers, olive groves, and hills.In Guy Gavriel Kay’s new novel, Ysabel, this duality—of exquisite beauty and violent history—is explored in a work that marks a departure from Kay’s historical fantasies set in various analogues of the past.Ysabel takes place in the world of today: in a modern springtime, in and around the celebrated city of Aix-en-Provence near Marseilles. Dangerous, mythic figures from the Celtic and Roman conflicts of the past erupt into the present, claiming and changing lives.The protagonist is Ned Marriner, the fifteen year-old son of a well-known photographer. Ned has accompanied his father, Edward Marriner, and a team of assistants to Provence for a six week “shoot.”

    A halfbreed's search for a mysterious slave woman leads her to a lawless land of dark dunmagic and an evil that poses a threat to all the Isles of Glory.

    And he certainly never asked to be the second son of a royal line that really didn't need a spare. So he was sent out to slay a dragon and prove himself-a quest straight out of legend. But he also discovered the kinds of things legends tend to leave out, as well as the usual demons, goblins, the dreaded Night Witch-and even worse terrors hidden in the shadows of Darkwood. Rupert did find a fiery dragon-and a beautiful princess to rescue. But the dragon turned out to be a better friend than anyone back at the castle, and with the evil of Darkwood spreading, Rupert was going to need all the friends he could get.

    When the seafaring Allemanii tribes came to their shores, the two races lived side by side for generations, staying apart but trading and learning from each other in peaceful harmony. But something went horribly awry and the shari'a people were suddenly and brutally slain by the settlers who had come to dominate the land. They feared the shari'a . . . and more important, the witches who led them and who held powers that the Allemanii could barely comprehend. The remnants of this gentle people were scattered, and any shari'a who held the knowledge of the old ways and powers were proscribed and hunted to death. That was long ago, and young Brierley thinks she is the last shari'a witch in the world. She knows what discovery it would mean, but she cannot deny her gifts as a healer; risking discovery, she goes out time and again to bring solace . . . despite the fact that those Brierley saves are the very people who killed most of her race.When she saves the life of a nobleman's wife-a nobleman sworn to obliterate any trace of witchery-Brierley stumbles into a web of deceit and power struggles more deadly than anything she has ever faced. But she refuses to walk away-and by staying the course, Brierley gains the possibility of finding a love to last the ages, as well as a way to reclaim her people's heritage.With Mother Ocean, Daughter Sea, Marcellas has crafted a beautiful first novel that explores what it means to be different, to value that difference, and what happens when one trusts in true love.

    But a small band of outlaws are prepared to risk their lives to defeat Gudrun and restore the land to its rightful leader. This trilogy follows them in their quest, from the first terrifying journey to meet the mysterious snow-walker's son, to the final battle in the lands beyond the rainbow bridge...The Snow-Walker's SonSince Gudrun came from the frozen mists beyond the edge of the world, the Jarl's people have obeyed her in hatred and terror. But the enchantress has one weakness: a son, Kari, banished to a forbidding fortress in the north, never seen by the Jarl's people. In secret they wonder: Are the rumours true? Was he born a monster?Now Jessa and her cousin Thorkil have been exiled to the north, and if they survive the journey, they will find the truth: Is Kari a beast? Or the means to stop the sorceress?The Empty HandFrom frost and magic, the sorceress Gudrun conjures a rune beast and sends it from the land of the Snow-Walkers, southwards towards the stronghold of the new Jarl, Wulfgar. The approach of the beast spreads fear amongst the people. Jessa, Skapti the poet, and a slave named Hakon Empty Hand must help the Jarl confront this horror while around them, mistrust and conspiracy grow. In some hidden way, these dark events are linked with Gudrun's mysterious son, Kari, whose own talents as sorcerer are beginning to reach their terrifying potential.The Soul ThievesIn the dramatic conclusion to the "Snow-Walker" trilogy, the sorceress Gudrun places an enchantment of frost and dreams upon the people of the Jarlshold and steals the soul of the Jarl's young bride. To reclaim the girl, Jessa and her friends must now begin a perilous quest to the land of Snow-Walkers, a place not shown on any map. They must journey beyond the edge of the world, beyond the rift into darkness, where the final battle between Gudrun and her son must take place.

    The Doranen have ruled Lur with magic since arriving as refugees centuries ago. Theirs was a desperate flight to escape the wrath of a powerful mage who started a bitter war in their homeland. To keep Lur safe, the native Olken inhabitants agreed to abandon their own magic. Magic is now forbidden to them, and any who break this law are executed. Asher left his coastal village to make his fortune. Employed in the royal stables, he soon finds himself befriended by Prince Gar and given more money and power than he'd ever dreamed possible. But the Olken have a secret; a prophecy. The Innocent Mage will save Lur from destruction and members of The Circle have dedicated themselves to preserving Olken magic until this day arrives. Unbeknownst to Asher, he has been watched closely. As the Final Days approach, his life takes a new and unexpected turn ...