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The Masters by Ricardo Pinto


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System programmer: The Maiden and The Madman


Jean-Philippe Janssens - 2019
    She comes from a long line of summoners and had expected to partner up with a powerful being, like the rest of her family. Instead, she summoned a computer programmer, who from now on will be living inside her head. Powerless, he's unable to help her with the upcoming war. Disappointed that neither of them had been blessed by fate with some divine abilities, he decides to build a computer system inside her head himself. ================================ The book's second edition is now live! Most people liked the story but thought the editing was lacking so I'm happy to announce the novel went through a second round of editing, this time it was done by a professional in the field. All future tomes will also be edited by her.

Scales & Scoundrels #1


Sebastian Girner - 2017
    Ever in search of gold and glory, she sets off for a fabled dungeon, "the Dragon's Maw," an ancient labyrinth, at the bottom of which slumbers endless wealth…or certain doom! But what starts out as a road to riches becomes the first step on an epic journey to destiny, for Luvander holds a secret in her heart that will shatter the chains of fate and bring light to a world encroached upon by an ancient darkness. Writer SEBASTIAN GIRNER (SHIRTLESS BEAR-FIGHTER!) and artist GALAAD are proud to present SCALES & SCOUNDRELS, a colorful and exciting new monthly fantasy adventure from Image Comics, for scoundrels of all ages!

The Heart of Stone


Ben Galley - 2017
    Murderer. Monster. Task has been called many names in his time.“Echoes of Brandon Sanderson and Scott Lynch.”– SFF World“Grimdark with heart and soul.”– Anna Smith Spark, author of The Empires of Dust Trilogy“A very, very good read."– Fantasy Faction“A brutal delight with thrilling action and heart, rowdy and wise, bloody and tender at the same time."– Dyrk Ashton, author of The Paternus TrilogyBest Self-Published Fantasy Novel– 2017 Booknest Fantasy Awards———Golems are built for war and little else. In centuries past, they were a terrifying staple of the battlefield. Empires were conquered on the backs of golems. Now, time and fear have whittled their kind down to a precious few, kept only by kings and warlords.Task of Wind-Cut is one such machine of war.Task was built to kill. Built to win. Thousands have died at his stone hands. He cared once, perhaps, but far too many years have passed and too much blood has been spilled. Task has become numb to the chaos he wreaks for his masters. A slave to the spells that bind him.Now, Task has a new master to serve and a new war to endure. In the far reaches of the Realm, Hartlund is in the grip of civil war, tearing itself in two over coin and crown. This time, Task will fight for a boy king and a general bent on victory.Beneath his formidable stone, Task longs for change. For an end to this cycle of warfare. For proof of light and good amongst the foul darkness of humanity and war. It will take the mind of an unusual stable-girl to change his.———ABOUT THE HEART OF STONEPacked with action and yet emotionally charged, The Heart of Stone is an epic military fantasy novel that explores the facets of human nature and the roots of warfare and conflict. Told through the eyes of Task, a five hundred year-old golem, this standalone fantasy is perfect for fans of Brandon Sanderson, Mark Lawrence, Scott Lynch and Joe Abercrombie.———MORE PRAISE FOR THE HEART OF STONE“From the fascinating world-building to the intriguing, colorful and memorable characters, The Heart of Stone is a pleasure to read.”– BookNest“Dark, brutal and violent, and packed with heart and emotional depth, The Heart of Stone is an intriguing novel.”– Alan Baxter, author of The Alex Caine Series“This is Ben’s best book yet. Plain and simple.”– Michael R. Miller, author of The Dragon’s Blade Trilogy"A solidly written and fascinating dark fantasy."– BiblioSanctum

A Shadow in Summer


Daniel Abraham - 2006
    Its wealth is beyond measure; its port is open to all the merchants of the world, and its ruler, the Khai Saraykeht, commands forces to rival the Gods. Commerce and trade fill the streets with a hundred languages, and the coffers of the wealthy with jewels and gold. Any desire, however exotic or base, can be satisfied in its soft quarter. Blissfully ignorant of the forces that fuel their prosperity, the people live and work secure in the knowledge that their city is a bastion of progress in a harsh world. It would be a tragedy if it fell.Saraykeht is poised on the knife-edge of disaster.At the heart of the city's influence are the poet-sorcerer Heshai and the captive spirit, Seedless, whom he controls. For all his power, Heshai is weak, haunted by memories of shame and humiliation. A man faced with constant reminders of his responsibilities and his failures, he is the linchpin and the most vulnerable point in Saraykeht's greatness.Far to the west, the armies of Galt have conquered many lands. To take Saraykeht, they must first destroy the trade upon which its prosperity is based. Marchat Wilsin, head of Galt's trading house in the city, is planning a terrible crime against Heshai and Seedless. If he succeeds, Saraykeht will fall.Amat, House Wilsin's business manager, is a woman who rose from the slums to wield the power that Marchat Wilsin would use to destroy her city. Through accidents of fate and circumstance Amat, her apprentice Liat, and two young men from the farthest reaches of their society stand alone against the dangers that threaten the city.

Illborn


Daniel T. Jackson - 2021
    He used these to forcibly unite the peoples of Angall, before His ascension to heaven. Over eight hundred years later, in a medieval world which is threatened by war and religious persecution, four young men and women begin to develop supernatural abilities. These forbidden and secret powers will shatter the lives that they have known, and will force each of them to confront the mystery of the ethereal Gate which haunts their dreams. What does the dream mean, and how is it connected to their burgeoning abilities? As they experience conflict, love, lust and betrayal, in lands which are being overtaken by war, they must try to stay ahead of and to survive the sinister forces which are now pursuing them. For they are being hunted…ILLBORN is Daniel T. Jackson's powerful and gritty debut novel, and is the thrilling opening chapter in the epic fantasy story of The Illborn Saga.

Where Oblivion Lives


T. Frohock - 2019
    Frohock comes a dark, lyrical historical thriller, set in 1930s Spain and Germany, that brings to life the world of angels and demons from the novellas collected in Los Nefilim: Spanish Nephilim battling daimons in a supernatural war to save humankind.Born of daimon and angel, Diago Alvarez is a being unlike all others. The embodiment of dark and light, he has witnessed the good and the horror of this world and those beyond. In the supernatural war between angels and daimons that will determine humankind’s future, Diago has chosen Los Nefilim, the sons and daughters of angels who possess the power to harness music and light.As the forces of evil gather, Diago must locate the Key, the special chord that will unite the nefilim’s voices, giving them the power to avert the coming civil war between the Republicans and Franco’s Nationalists. Finding the Key will save Spain from plunging into darkness.And for Diago, it will resurrect the anguish caused by a tragedy he experienced in a past life.But someone—or something—is determined to stop Diago in his quest and will use his history to destroy him and the nefilim. Hearing his stolen Stradivarius played through the night, Diago is tormented by nightmares about his past life. Each incarnation strengthens the ties shared by the nefilim, whether those bonds are of love or hate . . . or even betrayal.To retrieve the violin, Diago must journey into enemy territory . . . and face an old nemesis and a fallen angel bent on revenge.

No Gods, No Monsters


Cadwell Turnbull - 2021
    But what looks like a case of police brutality soon reveals something much stranger. Monsters are real. And they want everyone to know it.As creatures from myth and legend come out of the shadows, seeking safety through visibility, their emergence sets off a chain of seemingly unrelated events. Members of a local werewolf pack are threatened into silence. A professor follows a missing friend’s trail of bread crumbs to a mysterious secret society. And a young boy with unique abilities seeks refuge in a pro-monster organization with secrets of its own. Meanwhile, more people start disappearing, suicides and hate crimes increase, and protests erupt globally, both for and against the monsters.At the center is a mystery no one thinks to ask: Why now? What has frightened the monsters out of the dark?The world will soon find out.

Blackwing


Ed McDonald - 2017
    When a raven tattoo rips itself from his arm to deliver a desperate message, Galharrow and a mysterious noblewoman must investigate a long dead sorcerer's legacy. But there is a conspiracy within the citadel: traitors, flesh-eaters and the ghosts of the wastelands seek to destroy them, but if they cannot solve the ancient wizard's paradox, the Deep Kings will walk the earth again, and all will be lost.The war with the Eastern Empire ended in stalemate some eighty years ago, thanks to Nall's 'Engine', a wizard-crafted weapon so powerful even the Deep Kings feared it. The strike of the Engine created the Misery - a wasteland full of ghosts and corrupted magic that now forms a No Mans Land along the frontier. But when Galharrow investigates a frontier fortress, he discovers complacency bordering on treason: then the walls are stormed, and the Engine fails to launch. Galharrow only escapes because of the preternatural magical power of the noblewoman he was supposed to be protecting. Together, they race to the capital to unmask the traitors and restore the republic's defences. Far across the Misery a vast army is on the move, as the Empire prepares to call the republic's bluff.

The Librarian: A First Contact Story


M.N. Arzu - 2015
    Aliens, it turns out, like to keep their existence quiet.Breaking a great number of rules, Seattle's resident alien has come back from a quick trip to his home planet to talk to his human wife. He just happened to land too close to a military base. Now, he will tell her the truth, even if he has to do it behind a glass wall and with the military between them. The Librarian is a contemporary novel set in America and dealing with first contact with an alien species unlike anything else in modern science fiction. Readers' Favorite Silver Award for Short Story/Novella, 2018WriteOn Staff Pick, 2015

Reverie


Ryan La Sala - 2019
    He can’t remember how he got there, what happened after, and why his life seems so different now. And it’s not just Kane who’s different, the world feels off, reality itself seems different. As Kane pieces together clues, three almost-strangers claim to be his friends and the only people who can truly tell him what’s going on. But as he and the others are dragged into unimaginable worlds that materialize out of nowhere—the gym warps into a subterranean temple, a historical home nearby blooms into a Victorian romance rife with scandal and sorcery—Kane realizes that nothing in his life is an accident. And when a sinister force threatens to alter reality for good, they will have to do everything they can to stop it before it unravels everything they know. This wildly imaginative debut explores what happens when the secret worlds that people hide within themselves come to light.

Among Thieves


Douglas Hulick - 2011
    But when an ancient book falls into his hands, Drothe finds himself in possession of a relic capable of bringing down emperors-a relic everyone in the underworld would kill to obtain.

The Orb of Truth


Brae Wyckoff - 2012
    Human kingdoms have seized control of the realm, scattering the other races into hiding.Bridazak, a skilled thief, and his friends, a Dwarf and a fellow Ordakian, have dared to remain within the human communities and live relatively quiet lives, until they discover a mysterious, magical artifact. The three friends are thrust into an adventure that will challenge their faith, their purpose, and their destiny as they chase a forgotten and lost prophecy across the realm of Ruauck-El, where they hope to discover the origins of the strange item and their place in its history.An ancient, unknown enemy threatens the completion of their journey at every turn. Bridazak is about to face the biggest adventure of his life, one that may change the known realm, and answer the questions he has carried all his life. Will they unlock the truth?

Sea Change


S.M. Wheeler - 2013
    In Octavius’s many arms, Lilly learns of friendship, loyalty, and family. When Octavius, forbidden by Lilly to harm humans, is captured by seafaring traders and sold to a circus, Lilly becomes his only hope for salvation. Desperate to find him, she strikes a bargain with a witch that carries a shocking price. Her journey to win Octavius’s freedom is difficult. The circus master wants a Coat of Illusions; the Coat tailor wants her undead husband back from a witch; the witch wants her skin back from two bandits; the bandits just want some company, but they might kill her first. Lilly's quest tests her resolve, tries her patience, and leaves her transformed in every way.

Gods of Blood and Bone


Azalea Ellis - 2015
    I am the new god. They captured me in a dirty alley and injected me with a virtual reality chip, a GPS tracker, and my first Seed. They made me a Player. At first, I loved the miraculous ability to level up anything about myself. Then they yanked me off my world for the first time, and sent me to fight for my life on a vicious alien planet, where the other Players are just as dangerous as the monsters, and if you can’t level up, you die. But I’m the type to cling to life by the tips of my bloody fingernails. And I hate it when people try to control me.

The Octunnumi Fosbit Files Prologue


Trevor Alan Foris - 2020
    Equally, there are no secret access points to these hidden worlds that don’t exist, and there is no, 'unfinished business from the past' that is set to destroy, well, anything. There is no disaster looming.Anyway, regardless of any potential threat that may or may not be present, this publication, The Octunnumi and any reference to any other beings is a work of fiction.And for the record, Scariodintts, should they exist, are perfectly lovely beings whose purpose in life is grossly misunderstood.