Book picks similar to
The Curse of the Witch-Queen by Paula Volsky


fantasy
fantasy-science-fiction
fiction
sci-fi-fantasy

Waterdance


Anne Logston - 1999
    Known equally for her swordmanship and for her magical talents, Peri single-handledly rescues a prisoner from a Sarkond warriors' camp--and finds herself the liberator of a dreaded Sarkond heretic. Now, they must depend on each other in order to survive--and face the prophecy they are destined to fulfill, together.

The Three Sisters


Jane Routley - 2004
    Once Tari ruled in the land of Yarmar -- a mysterious race of visionaries and healers whose power has since faded to legend. Then the armies of Mir came to destroy and enslave. Now, in their relentless drive for domination, the despised Mirayan Prince Scarvan and his loyal duke, Wolf Madraga, have both claimed a prize beyond compare. She is called Elena Starchild, the bewitching wife of a newly slain woodlands leader. She is Tari, possessing a "fatal beauty" that confounds and obsesses her lustful captors. And she will not be abandoned.Drawn from their island sanctuary by a sister's plight, a warrior and a sorceress return to an oppressed land, carrying with them the magic of hope, spirit, and glorious rebellion. But there are shadows in their own hearts that first must be conquered before a prisoner is freed ... and a mighty destiny can come to pass.

Wizard of the Grove


Tanya Huff - 1998
    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 IN THE AGE OF MORTALS--the Elder Races have withdrawn almost completely from the world of humans.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...

The Hawk's Gray Feather


Patricia Kennealy-Morrison - 1990
    This first installment of a trilogy describes Arthur's education by Merlynn, his gathering of followers to campaign against theocratic tyranny in his homeland of Keltia and his turbulent, jealous relationship with cousin Gweniver.

Shaman's Crossing


Robin Hobb - 2005
    The second son of a newly anointed nobleman, he must endure the rigors of military training at the elite King's Cavalla Academy--and survive the hatred, cruelty, and derision of his aristocratic classmates--before joining the King of Gernia's brutal campaign of territorial expansion. The life chosen for him will be fraught with hardship, for he must ultimately face a forest-dwelling folk who will not submit easily to a king's tyranny. And they possess an ancient magic their would-be conquerors have long discounted--a powerful sorcery that threatens to claim Nevare Burvelle's soul and devastate his world once the Dark Evening brings the carnival to Old Thares.

Song for the Basilisk


Patricia A. McKillip - 1998
    Of his past he knew nothing -- except faint memories of fire and death that he'd do anything to forget. But nightmares, and a new threat to the island that had become his own, would not let him escape the dreaded fate of his true family. Haunted by the music of the bards, he left the only home he knew to wander the land of the power-hungry basilisk who had destroyed his family. And perhaps, finally, to find a future in the fulfillment of his forgotten destiny.(

To Green Angel Tower, Part 1


Tad Williams - 1993
    Replete with war, deception, adventure, sorcery, and romance, To Green Angel Tower brings to a stunning and surprising conclusion Tad Williams' monumental tale of a magical conflict which fractures the very fabric of time and space, turning both humans and Sithi against those of their own blood.As the evil minions of the undead Sithi Storm King prepare for the kingdom-shattering culmination of their dark sorceries and King Elias is drawn ever deeper into their nightmarish, spell-spun world, the loyal allies of Prince Josua desperately struggle to rally their forces at The Stone of Farewell. And with time running out, the remaining members of the now-devastated League of the Scroll have also gathered there to unravel mysteries from the forgotten past. For if the League can reclaim these age-old secrets of magic long-buried beneath the dusts of time, they may be able to reveal to Josua and his army the only means of striking down the unslayable foe.But whether or not the League is successful in its quest, the call of battle will lead the valiant followers of Josua Lackhand across storm tossed seas brimming with bloodthirsty kilpa...through forests swarming with those both mind- and soul-lost... through ancient caverns built by legendary Dwarrows...to the haunted halls of Asu'a itself—the Sithi's greatest stronghold!

Squaring the Circle


Niel Hancock - 1977
    Can Greyfax Grimwald, Faragon Fairingay, Dwarf, Otter, and Bear--the faithful followers of the Lady of Light--keep the Chest from Dorini's grasp? Or will the world of Atlanton Earth be plunged into darkness forever?

Leopard Lord


Alanna Morland - 1999
    Romantic fantasy at its best--from an exciting new voice in the genre! The successor to the barony of Leopard's Gard has made a wicked deal with the dark god, and now he must choose between the lives of his countrymen--and the woman he loves.

The Diamond Throne


David Eddings - 1989
    Indeed, Ehlana lies magically entombed within a block of crystal, doomed to die unless a cure can be found within a year.

Paratime


H. Beam Piper - 1981
    Carr · in 14 · He Walked Around the Horses · nv Astounding Apr ’48 39 · Police Operation [Verkan Vall] · nv Astounding Jul ’48 77 · Last Enemy [Verkan Vall] · na Astounding Aug ’50 149 · Time Crime [Verkan Vall] · n. Astounding Feb ’55 (+1) 261 · Temple Trouble [Verkan Vall] · nv Astounding Apr ’51

Lord of Snow and Shadows


Sarah Ash - 2003
    Far-reaching in scope and imagination, Lord of Snow and Shadows embarks on a journey like no other—into a shape-shifting world teeming with political intrigue, astonishing magic, and passions both dark and light.Raised by his protective mother in the sunny clime of the south, Gavril Andar knows nothing of his father—or the ominous legacy that awaits him. But his innocence is about to be shattered. The man who ruled the wintry kingdom of Azhkendir, a man infused with the burning blood of the dragon-warrior known as Drakhaoul, has been murdered by his enemies. It is his fiery, chameleonlike blood that pulses through Gavril’s veins. The news is Gavril’s first taste of death—but it will not be his last. For blood is the liquid that seals his fate.Expected by clan warriors from the north to avenge his father’s murder—and still his unquiet ghost—Gavril is kidnapped. He soon learns that becoming Drakhaon means not only ascending to the throne of Azhkendir but changing, in subtle ways at first, into a being of extraordinary power and might. A being that must be replenished with the blood of innocents in order to survive. Ensconced in Kastel Drakhaon with no means of escape from the icebound kingdom, and carefully watched by neighboring rulers waiting to move against him, the untested Gavril must fight to retain his human heart and soul in the face of impending war—and the dark instincts that threaten to overpower him.Man and beast, spymaster and insurgent, nature and the netherworld--all collide in phenomenal twists and turns. A masterwork of adventure fantasy, Lord of Snow and Shadows will leave you stunned—and longing for more.

Here Abide Monsters


Andre Norton - 1973
    They band together with an English group, some of whom have been on the planet since before the turn of the century...

The Curse of the Mistwraith


Janny Wurts - 1993
    Only the combined powers of two half-brothers can challenge the Mistwraith’s stranglehold: Arithon, Master of Shadow and Lysaer, Lord of Light.Arithon and Lysaer will find that they are inescapably bound inside a pattern of events dictated by their own deepest convictions. Yet there is more at stake than one battle with the Mistwraith – as the sorcerers of the Fellowship of Seven know well. For between them the half-brothers hold the balance of the world, its harmony and its future, in their hands.

The Road to Underfall


Mike Jefferies - 1990
    And it falls to untrained Thane, whose proud ancestry has become a laughingstock, to alert the border garrisons at distant Underfall.