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


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

Lost in Translation


Margaret Ball - 1995
    Finally though, her corporate ruler father decides he's going to get something for all the money he's laying out on her college education, and informs his daughter that she will be transferring to a good, old-fashioned school in southern France, where they will civilize her. But it turns out that Allie's California dreaming does prepare her for life. Because Allie does not arrive at the college south of Paris that she was supposed to attend--but Somewhere Else.What happens next will give new meaning to the term "transfer student" and "publish or perish."

Six of Swords


Carole Nelson Douglas - 1982
    Kendric was one of the Six of Swords, gifted with a legendary weapon to guard the Realms from harm. But now he was an outcast, and his death was sought with reason by the other Five. Sorceress and swordsman, they were thrown together; each filled with ancient prejudices against the other. But only by combining her uncertain powers with his remaining skills could they survive. Survive they must, however. Rule was a world formed upon magic - but now magic was failing and there would soon be no place for it. And destiny in strange guise had chosen them to make one last stand against the dark forces that were waiting at the Gate of Valna, seeking to destroy their world

We Claim These Stars


Poul Anderson - 1959
    Still, how do you plan the ambush and capture of a tremendously capable telepath?The intended victim, the weird genius from an uncharted world and the right arm of the enemy's general staff, not only knew everything thought nearby, he could read minds a a distance. So the problem posed to Dominic Flandry, Captain of Terran Intelligence, was a real killer.To make matters worse, the telepath in question was equally interested in putting Flandry out of commission. The fate of many planets might depend on which of the two triumphed.

The Glasswrights' Apprentice


Mindy Klasky - 2000
    A mere glasswrights' apprentice must uncover an elusive brotherhood whose deadly venom reaches out to stain the heart of her guild, the heart of her family -- and the heart of her king....

The Mist-Torn Witches


Barb Hendee - 2013
    the story of two sisters who will discover they have far more power than they ever envisioned...In a small village in the nation of Droevinka, orphaned sisters Céline and Amelie Fawe scrape out a living selling herbal medicines in their apothecary shop. Céline earns additional money by posing as a seer and pretending to read people’s futures.But they exist in a land of great noble houses, all vying for power, and when the sisters refuse the orders of a warlord prince, they must flee and are forced to depend on the warlord prince’s brother, Anton, for a temporary haven.A series of bizarre deaths of pretty young girls are plaguing the village surrounding Prince Anton’s castle. He offers Céline and Amelie permanent protection if they can use their "skills" to find the killer.With little choice, the sisters enter a world unknown to them — of fine gowns and banquets and advances from powerful men. Their survival depends on catching a murderer who appears to walk through walls and vanish without a trace — and the danger around them seems to grow with each passing night.

Flesh and Fire


Laura Anne Gilman - 2009
    Once, all power in the Vin Lands was held by the prince-mages, who alone could craft spellwines, and selfishly used them to increase their own wealth and influence. But their abuse of power caused a demigod to break the Vine, shattering the power of the mages. Now, fourteen centuries later, it is the humble Vinearts who hold the secret of crafting spells from wines, the source of magic, and they are prohibited from holding power.But now rumors come of a new darkness rising in the vineyards. Strange, terrifying creatures, sudden plagues, and mysterious disappearances threaten the land. Only one Vineart senses the danger, and he has only one weapon to use against it: a young slave. His name is Jerzy, and his origins are unknown, even to him. Yet his uncanny sense of the Vinearts' craft offers a hint of greater magics within — magics that his Master, the Vineart Malech, must cultivate and grow. But time is running out. If Malech cannot teach his new apprentice the secrets of the spellwines, and if Jerzy cannot master his own untapped powers, the Vin Lands shall surely be destroyed. In Flesh and Fire, first in a spellbinding new trilogy, Laura Anne Gilman conjures a story as powerful as magic itself, as intoxicating as the finest of wines, and as timeless as the greatest legends ever told.

Dragon Prince


Melanie Rawn - 1988
    First and foremost, he sought to bring permanent peace to his world of divided princedoms. And, in a land where dragon-slaying was a proof of manhood, Rohan was the sole champion of the dragons, fighting desperately to preserve the last remaining lords of the sky and with them a secret which might be the salvation of his people.... Sioned, the Sunrunner witch who was fated by Fire to be Rohan’s bride, had mastered the magic of sunlight and moonglow, catching hints of a yet to be formed pattern which could irrevocably affect the destinies of Sunrunners and ordinary mortals alike. Yet caught in the machinations of the Lady of Goddess Keep, and of Prince Rohan and his sworn enemy, the treacherously cunning High Prince, could Sioned alter this crucial pattern to protect her lord from the menace of a war that threatened to set the land ablaze?

The Inheritance Trilogy


N.K. Jemisin - 2014
    Jemisin's brilliantly original award-winning fantasy series, a young woman becomes entangled in a power struggle of mythic proportions.A REALM OF GODS AND MORTALS.Yeine Darr is an outcast from the barbarian north. But when her mother dies under mysterious circumstances, she is summoned to the majestic city of Sky. There, to her shock, Yeine is named an heiress to the king. But the throne of the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is not easily won, and Yeine is thrust into a vicious power struggle.The Inheritance Trilogy omnibus includes the novels: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, The Broken Kingdoms, and The Kingdom of Gods.

The Shape-Changer's Wife


Sharon Shinn - 1995
    Beagle to call her "the most original writer of fantasy since Robin McKinley." Aubrey was a student of the fine art of wizardry. But the more knowledge he acquired, the more he wanted to learn. He traveled in search of the greatest master of all, the gifted shape-changer Glyrenden. From him, Aubrey expected to discover the secret of long-lost spells and the mysteries of arcane magic. But there was one discovery he never expected, a mystery he risked every thing to solve. Her name was Lilith...

The Last Dragonlord


Joanne Bertin - 1998
    Dragonlord Linden Rathan, last-born of a race of immortal weredragons, has spent six hundred years alone, searching for his soultwin while his fellow Dragonlords watch over humanity's Five Kingdoms.When the Queen of Cassori dies mysteriously, Linden and the other Dragonlords are called upon to prevent civil war as two human claimants vie for the regency.As the battle for Cassori rule escalates, Linden becomes the target of the Fellowship, a secret society of true-humans who could actually destroy his immortal life.Then he meets a beautiful young ship captain named Maurynna who may be the only one who can help Linden bring Cassori back from the brink of chaos.

Tales of the Witch World 1


Andre NortonRobert E. Vardeman - 1987
    C. Crispin, Ardath Mayhar, and Robert E. Vardeman.Introduction / Andre Norton --Of the shaping of Ulm's heir / by Andre Norton --Heir apparent / by Robert Bloch --Fenneca / by Wilanne Schneider Belden --Bloodspell / by A.C. Crispin --The white road / by Charles de Lint --Cat and the other / by Marylois Dunn --Oath-bound / by Pauline Griffin --Of ancient swords and evil mist / by James R. Heidbrink --Nine words in winter / by Caralyn Inks --Were-hunter / by Mercedes Lackey --Neither rest nor refuge / by Ardath Mayhar --To rebuild the eyrie / by Sasha Miller --Milk from a maiden's breast / by Elizabeth Scarborough --Night hound's moon / by Mary H. Schaub --Isle of illusion / by Carol Severance --Green in High Hallack / by Kiel Stuart --The road of dreams and death / by Robert E. Vardeman --Biographical notes

The Reaver Road


Dave Duncan - 1992
    In times of turmoil, people can still appreciate a good tale that offers respite from their troubles. But as hordes of barbarian soldiers surround the unvanquished city of Zanadon after ravaging the surrounding countryside, few things are certain any longer. Omar has been guided to the city by prophetic dreams, yet finds himself inan increasingly dangerous situation as the people grow more desperate and the gift of a glib tongue turns into a curse.

Spindoc


Steve Perry - 1994
    Whenever a tragedy occurs, Silk manipulates the data and writes newspaper articles that are "appropriate" for public consumption. But when his lover is murdered and he becomes a target of spies and assassins, the spindoc searches for something new: the truth.

Winds of Fate


Mercedes Lackey - 1991
    High magic had been lost to Valdemar when Vanyel gave his life to save his kingdom from destruction by the dark sorceries. Now it falls to Elspeth -- Herald, heir to the throne -- to take up the challenge and seek a mentor who will awaken her mage abilities.

The Baker's Boy


J.V. Jones - 1995
    In her regal suite, young Melliandra, the daughter of an influential lord, rebels against her forced betrothal to the sinister Prince Kylock. In the kitchens, an apprentice named Jack is terrified by his sudden, uncontrolled power to work miracles. Together they flee the castle, stalked by a sorcer who has connived for decades to control the crown, committing supernatural murder to advance his schemes.Meanwhile, a young knight begins a quest leaving behind his home and family to seek out the treacherous Isle of Larn, where lies a clue to his desperate search for the truth.And a wondrous epic of darkness and beauty begins...