Such is Whill of Agora, Michael James Ploof’s action-packed fantasy that visits strange new lands as it unveils how one exceptional young man named Whill makes full use of fierce wits, superior skills, and relentless will to help defend the land of Agora from the monstrous Draggard. With plenty of drama and action packed battle scenes, Whill of Agora will enthrall anyone on the quest for great adventure, good times, and an infectiously optimistic outlook on even the darkest and most dangerous of days. It is the year 5170 in the land Agora, where humans, dwarves, and elves have existed in peace for centuries. Now, however, the human King Addakon has invaded and waged war on neighboring Isladon. The once peaceful Kingdoms of Agora are on the brink of continental war. The Dark Elf Eadon, Addakon's master, and his army of Dragon-Elf crossbreeds, the Draggard, threaten to conquer all kingdoms. The final hour has arrived. Enter young Whill, a nineteen-year-old ranger with battle savvy and untapped abilities. Having spent years roaming Agora and training with his mentor Abram, Whill has become a bright intellectual and a master of combat. What he seeks most, however, is the identity of his birth parents. Instead, he finds a tumultuous terrain and a prophecy placing him in the center of the struggle. Along the way, Whill encounters an equally inspired group of companions that are matched in skill and mission. These include Rhunis the Dragon Slayer, the young Tarren, the fearless Dwarf Roakore, the beguiling warrior Elf Avriel, and the powerful Zerafin. As Whill joins forces, he forges bonds far mightier than their escalating travails. With high adventure and fierce friendship, Whill of Agora will capture your imagination and grip your heart during every super-charged escapade that Agora’s bold and grinning brotherhood embraces.

    First novelist Forward explores the complications that arise from a surfeit of "goodness" in the world. The result is a skewed version of the epic fantasy that features an assassin, a thief, an evil sorceress, a dark knight, and an implacable druid as the villains-turned-heroes who must restore the delicate balance of opposing forces before their world disappears in a blinding flash of Goodness and Light. -- Library JournalForward's first novel gives the concept of the balance between good and evil a most ingenious twist: What if good were so totally triumphant that it became a worse danger than evil, and a band of unemployed evil characters had to go on a desperate quest to find the means of putting the saving bit of evil back into the world? The result of this twist is an almost straightforward quest tale, with numerous well-drawn characters (including a centaur who starts off as a secret agent for good and eventually joins the side of evil), great ingenuity about magic, very creditable world-building, and considerable wit. Although bearing its share of first-novel flaws, it has many more virtues, which include an underlying, serious examination of the good-evil dichotomy that is the basis of so many role-playing games. -- Roland Green

    R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire novels.”* Now, Anthony Ryan begins a new saga, The Draconis Memoria...Throughout the vast lands controlled by the Ironship Syndicate, nothing is more prized than the blood of drakes. Harvested from the veins of captive or hunted Reds, Green, Blues and Blacks, it can be distilled into elixirs that give fearsome powers to the rare men and women who have the ability harness them—known as the blood-blessed. But not many know the truth: that the lines of drakes are weakening. If they fail, war with the neighboring Corvantine Empire will follow swiftly. The Syndicate's last hope resides in whispers of the existence of another breed of drake, far more powerful than the rest, and the few who have been chosen by fate to seek it. Claydon Torcreek is a petty thief and an unregistered blood-blessed, who finds himself pressed into service by the protectorate and sent to wild, uncharted territories in search of a creature he believes is little more than legend. Lizanne Lethridge is a formidable spy and assassin, facing gravest danger on an espionage mission deep into the heart of enemy territory. And Corrick Hilemore is the second lieutenant of an ironship, whose pursuit of ruthless brigands leads him to a far greater threat at the edge of the world. As lives and empires clash and intertwine, as the unknown and the known collide, all three must fight to turn the tide of a coming war, or drown in its wake. *Library Journal

    His is a peaceful society where the violence of the past has been outlawed and disputes are settled by the Council.

    It might be a sign at that. The Island girl wasn't stupid. She knew how to work. And she had it inside her to be ruthless. Block had seen it plain as day." Epic Fantasy, Muskets & Magic. Historical fiction in a fictional world.The Trade Houses of the Miilark Islands control the shipping lanes linking four diverse continents across the blue vastness of the Interminable Ocean. The Houses are represented abroad by the Guilders; men and women skilled in business and burglary, salesmanship and swordplay, merchandising and musketry. Tilda Lanai has trained for years to take her place among them, but now the House she is to serve is imperiled by the sudden death of the House Lord. Scenting blood in the water, rival Houses begin to circle. The desperate search for an exiled heir takes Tilda across a war-torn continent and to the gates of the Sable City, where centuries ago dark magic almost destroyed the world. Along with a sinister sorceress, a broken-hearted samurai, and a miscreant mercenary long on charm but lousy with a crossbow, Tilda must brave the demon-infested ruins to find the heir who may yet save her House.Volume I of the Norothian Cycle

    'It's dangerous to meddle with things you don't understand.' BALFRUSS is a battlemage, sworn to fight and die for a country that fears his kind.VARGUS is a common soldier - while mages shoot lightning from the walls of his city, he is down on the front line getting blood on his blade.TALANDRA is a princess and spymaster, but the war will force her to risk everything, and make the greatest sacrifice of all.Magic and mayhem collide in this explosive epic fantasy from a major new talent.

    Now, he will not rest until he wins back the heart of his childhood love and reclaims the life that was stolen from him. However, locked safely in his cellar at night, in his dreams Lonan finds himself looking through the eyes of a young prince…Adahy has a destiny, and it terrifies him. How can he hope to live up to the legend of the Magpie King, to become the supernatural protector of the forest and defender of his people? But when the forest is invaded by an inhuman force, Adahy must rise to this challenge or let the Wolves destroy his people.Watching these events unfold in his sleep, Lonan must do what he can to protect his village from this new threat. He is the only person who can keep his loved ones from being stolen away after dark, and to do so he will have to earn back their trust or watch the monsters kill everyone that he holds dear.They Mostly Come Out At Night is a Dark Fantasy novel from Benedict Patrick’s Yarnsworld series. If you like Neil Gaiman and Patrick Rothfuss then you will love this captivating, dangerous world in which ordinary people struggle to find their place in a land ruled by stories.Start reading today to discover this epic tale of dreams, fables and monsters!

    Will he succeed in exonerating him and saving the realm from an enemy in the shadows before it is too late for the whole North?By the age of fifteen, Lasgol has endured a hard childhood and lives, cornered and hated, in a small village in the North. He is the son of the traitor, the man who betrayed the kingdom and tried to kill the King. His only companions are the mountains and the snow, ever-present in the region. Yet he refuses to believe that his father is guilty, in spite of all the evidence that points to the fact, even though the King himself was a witness to the betrayal.Lasgol is determined to clear his father's name, and to do this he has only a single option: the School of Rangers, a secret place where the respected and feared defenders of the lands of the kingdom are trained for four years. Going there is insane, hate and death await him. But as the son of a Ranger, he is entitled to attend.At the Camp he will find himself involved in political intrigues, disloyalties and murder. He will encounter hatred and fearsome enemies, but also a handful of friends, novices as much out of place as he is himself, determined to do whatever is necessary to pass the first year... without dying in the attempt.Will Lasgol survive the first year of instruction at the Rangers' Camp? Will he find out what happened to his father? Will he be able to clear his name?  Find out while you follow fascinating adventures with a group of characters you will fall in love with.  The adventure begins right now!

    . .But the spirits that reside within this land want to rid it of all humans. One woman stands between these malevolent spirits and the end of humankind: the queen. She alone has the magical power to prevent the spirits from destroying every man, woman, and child. But queens are still just human, and no matter how strong or good, the threat of danger always looms. With the position so precarious, young women are chosen to train as heirs. Daleina, a seemingly quiet academy student, is under no illusions as to her claim to the throne, but simply wants to right the wrongs that have befallen the land. Ven, a disgraced champion, has spent his exile secretly fighting against the growing number of spirit attacks. Joining forces, these daring partners embark on a treacherous quest to find the source of the spirits’ restlessness—a journey that will test their courage and trust, and force them to stand against both enemies and friends to save their land . . . before it’s bathed in blood.

     Rejecting his role as an outcast, Brock risks his life and obtains a false rune, marking him a member of the Empire's ruling class. Under a veil of deception and backed by natural talent, he then schemes his way into a school where the Empire's future leaders are trained. Can he maintain this charade? Within an academy of magic, science, and combat, he discovers secrets kept from society, among which is a forbidden magic he is able to wield. While he is determined to tame his frightening new abilities, one misstep could destroy him.

    For all her reign, she has fought the long war, contested in secret, against the powers that stand behind nations, for higher stakes than land or gold. Her greatest weapon is The Silent Sister—unseen by most and unspoken of by all.The Red Queen’s grandson, Prince Jalan Kendeth—drinker, gambler, seducer of women—is one who can see The Silent Sister. Tenth in line for the throne and content with his role as a minor royal, he pretends that the hideous crone is not there. But war is coming. Witnesses claim an undead army is on the march, and the Red Queen has called on her family to defend the realm. Jal thinks it’s all a rumor—nothing that will affect him—but he is wrong.After escaping a death trap set by the Silent Sister, Jal finds his fate magically intertwined with a fierce Norse warrior. As the two undertake a journey across the Empire to undo the spell, encountering grave dangers, willing women, and an upstart prince named Jorg Ancrath along the way, Jalan gradually catches a glimmer of the truth: he and the Norseman are but pieces in a game, part of a series of moves in the long war—and the Red Queen controls the board.

    She yearns for freedom, but he won’t let her go—not when her Cat’s Eye necklace is the only thing that can save his life.But the necklace itself presents a problem. It is an ancient device from the long forgotten War of the Races, and its magic has the ability to steal souls. Can Sora learn to wield its power—or will the power wield her? (Winner of the SKOW 2006 Best Fantasy Award)

    His life no longer in his hands, he fears an uncertain future where the only certainty is a life of servitude to the kingdom. Fortunately for Seth, he is not alone. His brother Garret too attends the choosing ceremony where their fates will be decided. Together the twins make their way to the castle city of Valdadore for the choosing ceremony but along the way Seth notices a strange new trend in his life. Time after time strange circumstances befall him in what others might call a coincidence, but Seth knows something else is amiss and begins mentally cataloging each new and strange event. Learning his past is all a lie, Seth begins to fear more for his future as a dark goddess vies for his service to her cause. Seths loyalties and responsibilities begin to stack up as he makes friends and allies and even falls in love, but with the choosing ceremony growing ever nearer will he be forced to flee the kingdom into a life of exile, or choose to serve the goddess who swears that only through her will he find peace.

    A moment when one must decide what one is willing to accept. Death, defeat, or allow one’s carnal rage to take control and consequences be damned.” Skharr DeathEaterA lone DeathEater has forsaken his clan. Leaving behind his previous life, Skharr starts building a future next to a dangerous forest in an unknown land.He tells himself it is better than taking gold for questionable reasons.A lone old man travelling with a donkey offers him a choice: Continue this farm life, or trade him Skharr’s just finished home and tilled land for a map.A map that Skharr can use to live large for years… If he survives.The old peddler watches him. Realizing the intelligence, the polished actions of the huge man is but an act. A carefully orchestrated semblance of civility, and shudders.Of all the Barbarian hordes, the rumor was to never, ever upset a DeathEater.And he had come here to unleash this particular DeathEater back into the world.

    Until, that is, he realizes that she is a spirit, and he is the only one who can see or hear her. Her name is Becca Hatcher, and she needs Maddox to help get her home.Farrell Grayson, Modern-day Toronto: Rich and aimless Farrell Grayson is thrilled when the mysterious leader of the ultra-secret Hawkspear Society invites him into the fold. But when he learns exactly what he has to do to prove himself, Farrell starts to question everything he thought he knew about family, loyalty, and himself….Fate has brought these young people together, but ancient magic threatens to rip them apart.