Book picks similar to
A Circle of Salt by E.J. Weaver


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The Cheater's Return


Brian McGoldrick - 2018
    In the chaos following World War III, the Patriarch of the Church of the Resurrection rebuilt Earth's society into a collection of over 500 independent city-states. With alien technology that gave him complete control over the Earth's orbital space, the Patriarch outlawed war, and introduced the Constructed Reality MMORPG Primacy Online. He only allowed the city-states to engage in military conflicts with one another inside of the game. City-state leaders that attempted to ignore Church Canon were destroyed, along with their armies, by the Church's orbital particle cannons. For more than a thousand years, there have been no wars fought on the Earth's soil. The release of Primacy Online VI: Legacy of Balor signals the beginning of World War IX. Each city-state will lock 50,000 draftees into cryogenic capsules and upload their minds into a character sheathe in the game. Until the armistice conditions have been reached, they will play Primacy Online in War Mode, with the death of the character sheathes meaning their real deaths, but this time there is a twist to the World War. Every still living perma-banned cheater from Primacy Online will be a special draftee for World War IX. They will be organized into a special contingent in the service of the Church of the Resurrection. Patrick Armagh is terminally ill. Like a large number of other Primacy Online players, he is afflicted with an incurable nervous system disorder. He has less than five years to live and should be exempted from the draft, but five years ago, he was given a permanent ban from Primacy Online for cheating. Along with the other perma-banned cheaters, he will be forced to play Primacy Online VI: Legacy of Balor in War Mode, but Patrick's actual method of cheating was never discovered. Morgan Danan, Speaker of the City of Mann, and the acknowledged number one player of Primacy Online has deal for Patrick. With her help and his undiscovered cheat, he has the chance to become a virtual God within Primacy Online. When you are already as good as dead, there is nothing better than the chance to spend your last days as a living god. What could possibly go wrong?

Challenges of a Scribe: A LitRPG Duology: Book Two


Michael Deyhim - 2021
    On their travels, Edward works to overcome the challenge of reintegrating with his siblings and parents. They try to work together in search of a brighter future, all feel the strain of losing their home and livelihood. Edward is not the same boy as when he left home and must balance his hard-fought independence with his role as brother and son.Despite optimism for the future and escaping the destruction of Azalon, a dark threat looms over the family’s hope of rebuilding. Edward’s skills continue to progress, but will it be enough to protect the family’s fragile beginnings? Overcoming his own fears and personal demons is the biggest challenge Edward must face as he chooses a future with his family, or one of an adventurer.

Hatchling


Lupine King - 2018
    Wealthy, talented and gifted with prodigious abilities, there is is little doubt that he is blessed. However, recent events appear to suggest otherwise. Verre is a vast place with daemons and cultivators aplenty. Their schemes and secrets are legion. Valerian finds himself skirting the fringes of some of the greatest his land has to offer and unfortunately for him, he is being inexorably drawn in. There is only one way to keep afloat; grow, train, survive!

The Dragon's Son (Tales of the Wovlen #1)


Kathryn Fogleman - 2014
    If only he had known then what that choice would mean. Thirteen years later, Keegan, no longer a boy, learns that his younger sister survived the massacre and sets off to be reunited with her. When Keegan accidentally interrupts a plot against a princess, his simple trip turns into a complicated struggle for survival. A mysterious elder appears, full of wit and riddle. Mythical monsters shed their fictional skin and hungrily pursue Keegan and his dragon. Haunting nightmares begin to tear at his mind. As he continues on his quest to be reunited with his sister, Keegan is only just beginning to understand what it means to be... The Dragon’s Son

The Sigilist


Andrew Karevik - 2020
    The few patrons who pass through his tavern are often travelers looking for a cold beer and warm bed, but they move on quickly after that. The pretty noblewoman who visits from time to time, owner of the land Lance works, barely notices him, despite his efforts. But what is a peasant to do?One night, a traveler, poor and weary, arrives with nary a coin in his pocket. Lance, ever a man of hospitality, allows him to stay. The weary traveler sleeps in one of the tavern rooms and dies overnight, leaving behind nothing except a book of spells. This spellbook, which talks, explains to Lance that this wizard had no next of kin and sought instead to grant his immense power to whoever took him in first. The spellbook now belongs to Lance, changing everything in an instant.Within the pages of the book are sigils—carefully scribed arcane markings that transfer power. By learning to replicate a sigil in the air, Lance is able to cast spells. Magic is relatively secretive in this world; there are no wizard schools, nor books to explain how it works. All wizards are sworn to secrecy. By gaining the power of the Sigilist, Lance’s opportunities become endless.Will Lance be able to use these spells wisely, helping the world he lives in? Can he use his power to win the heart of the fair noblewoman who has not once paid him any mind? Or will the strange powers that exist in the world lure him to serve the causes of a Sorcerer King who is slowly building his dominion to reign over the land?

Thief's Bounty


D.B. King - 2021
    This one moment will change Kraken Island forever.Marcus the Exile thought his life was done for. Until he found a dungeon faerie with immense power on offer.Now, he's the owner of pocket dungeons that spontaneously evolve whenever items are left inside them. Scum on a boot? That's a monster. A sword left by an adventurer? You bet that's gonna be a monster.But this power of evolution isn't just happening to the dungeon and its creatures. It's happening to Marcus, and anyone near the dungeon. No one knows why, least of all Marcus.If he's not careful, Marcus might end up becoming the most powerful man on Kraken Island.This LitRPG Dungeon Core novel contains multiple interior illustrations of characters, monsters, and scenes. Expect to find an intelligent main character, consistent progression, and a unique Age of Discovery setting.

Call of the Wolf


J.P. Nelson - 2014
    Later, the builders of Xibalba called it, Xn’Csero, meaning the 3rd World. But the youth who calls himself Timber Wolf doesn’t care. Born into slavery, the human and elf half-breed was taken from his momma’s side and sold into hazardous labor. Over the years he learned to hate, but there was something more; something, some kind of power from his lost, forgotten elvin ancestry was growing inside. But why? Did it have anything to do with the strange weather patterns, awakening volcanoes, tidal waves and part of a continent falling into the sea? Magic was a dying practice, his mother was last of the Elvin Tell-Singers, there were no more Druids, and Kn’Yang, the youth’s great-great-grandfather had been last of the Gahjurahnge Warriors … or was he? The word was, religious leaders around the known world were moving toward the Kohntia Mountains in belief an upcoming stellar phenomenon would transform one individual into godhood. But in the overall scheme of things, why should the youth care? Besides, what difference can one person make? Follow Timber Wolf’s path in a world of chaos, tyranny, oppression by the sword and a worldwide Quest for Conquest by those seeking divine ascension … a world desperately in need of heroes. Call of the Wolf is the 1st novel in The Kohrinju Tai Saga. Weaving a story driven by character development, captivating visuals, fast moving action and intricate paradox against a background of richly detailed history and culture, J P Nelson has created an innovative new look at elves, leprechauns, dragons and magic with all new creatures, intelligent species and more …

Press Start


Thomas Whipple - 2019
    When he found his old console from when he was a kid, he dusts it off and sets it up. He played his old games, but he had finished them all long ago. So, what does he do? He takes a trip to the local game shop to browse the used titles. Browsing the old cartridges, he finds one that he never heard of: Dark Ages: The Death of Magic. When a store attendant tells him that game is rumored to never have been beaten, he had to have it. Occupying all his free time he finally beats the unbeatable game. What happens next, he never would have guessed. He is introduced to the System. Something that has always existed but not everyone knew about. Join Dean as he is introduced to the seedy underbelly of a world where the myths of magic from the past read like history. Joined by his childhood friend, he must survive in a world of magic hidden from everyone. A world that has remained secret through the blood of those who have discovered it. And to top it all off, he discovers that his childhood friend—his best friend—isn’t even human.

Shoes: A Reluctant Fairy Tale


Elizabeth A. Reeves - 2014
     It’s pretty obvious if you think about it that it wasn’t a magical girdle that Aphrodite had. It was a pair of magic shoes. So where are those shoes now? Making the rounds with mortal women! Grace Gallagher would be the first to say she’s nothing special. Short, on the plump side, with a failing bookstore, she is the black sheep of her large family. More than anything she wants to live her own life, have an adventure, maybe even a little romance like in those books she hides from her parents. Then a strangely handsome man drops off a package at the shop, addressed to her. Inside are a pair of shoes.

War of the Wildlands


Lana Axe - 2013
    Despite fighting savagely to defend their homes, the elves are outmatched by vicious attacks from highly skilled battle mages. The elven clans must join forces to have any chance of survival against the ruthless king’s army.Meanwhile, a young half-elf is forced from the human world he has always known and travels into the Wildlands to seek out his elven kin. Along the way, he learns to draw on the magic within himself to craft weapons of tremendous power. When war arrives on his doorstep, he must choose whether to stand with the family he has always known or the elves who share his blood.

Ghosts of Gods


Sydney Allen - 2019
     After my time in the army and then finding myself in the mountains of Tibet, I was ready to lay low, to relax. It was time to go home. Or so I thought. No sooner had I set about returning to the normal life then I found myself swept up in a mission to kill the gods in order to save the life of someone very dear to me. The only problem with killing gods aside from, well, having to kill gods? First I had to be able to reach them through a ritual of intimacy and death. Yeah, you can see where that might be problematic. What follows is a tale of godly proportions with harem elements and downright dirty deeds.

Warlock: Reign of Blood


Edwin McRae - 2018
    He flees from the reiver slavers who are abducting the village’s NPCs, only to have an agonizing encounter with the wrong end of a ranger’s arrow. After trying and failing to log out of this painfully realistic game, Mark decides to take up his sword, embrace his new Warlock character class, and help the ranger rescue her people.The warlock and his hard-nosed ranger are soon joined by a macabre healer, an earth-shaking druid and a talking fortress. But as Mark takes the fight to the reivers, he uncovers an even deadlier threat. Dark magic is spreading into Garland from a long dead city, and the reiver leader has found a way to harness some of that corrupted power for himself.Level by level, spell by spell, Mark must become the warlock that Garland needs before it falls to the corrupted ambitions of a rising tyrant.If you love…Visceral combatLovecraftian monstersAncient ruinsSwords and sorceryCompletely original spells...then Warlock: Reign of Blood is for you!Warlock is Book 1 in the Chasms of Corruption duology.

The Tale of Tallest Rabbit


Rodrigo D. López - 2016
    Her eagerness to help a mysterious bunny gets her transported to a strange world full of goblin inventors, dog armies, cosmic giants, and even stranger things! Armed with the ancestral weapon of rabbitkind (an old shovel) she must help her animal friends, and get home in time for supper. Along the way she will experience the bravery of folk heroes, the power of ancient gods and the danger of lurking monsters; all while making sure her animal friends are safe. A word book for young readers, The Tale of Tallest Rabbit is a family friendly collection of stories tied together by an overarching narrative of bravery and friendship.

The Gorgon's Blood Solution


Jeffrey Quyle - 2013
    But when a stranger offers him an unusual coin, he begins to understand alchemy a little better, and suddenly thinks that it could be a way to make a living after all.Marco’s problem is that fate doesn’t plan for his life to fit that plan, at least not at Algornia’s shop in the Lion City. An evil force is rising, and sending its destructive energy out to scour kingdoms and cities for some unknown purpose. Marco becomes an inadvertent pawn in the machinations of the evil, when he is caught up in the violence and drama of a Corsair raid, and taken away from everything – the Lion City, Algornia’s shop, even Constance the model.There are undreamt of allies and friends and opportunities though, and escape is possible. Starting over a new life is not quite as easy however, as Fate starts to hunt Marco down, demanding that he live up to the challenges that are thrown his way, as a champion begins to emerge to face the brunt force of evil.The Gorgon’s Blood Solution is the first volume in Alchemy’s Apprentice, a new fantasy series by Jeffrey Quyle.

The Broken Scale (The Dragon Riders of Arvain)


Nicholas Clausen - 2012
    When Hayden sets out to become a Metallic Dragon Rider he discovers that his dreams are far from reality as he gets ready for the Trials that stand between him and a dragon egg. The Trials test Hayden in every way but he finds that it is what happens after the Trials that he could not have prepared for. War breaks out as the dwarves and their red dragons descend upon Celestial City, home of the Metallic Riders. Hayden and his friends find themselves at the center of the maelstrom and all of Arvain is resting on what they choose to do next.