R. Martin, a writer of unsurpassed vision, power, and imagination, has created a landmark of fantasy fiction. Now his two epic works, A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings are combined together in this eBook edition. Sweeping from a harsh land of cold to a summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, A Game of Thrones tells a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards who come together in a time of grim omens. Here, an enigmatic band of warriors bear swords of no human metal, a tribe of fierce wildings carry men off into madness, a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to win back his throne, a child is lost in the twilight between life and death, and a determined woman undertakes a treacherous journey to protect all she holds dear. Amid plots and counterplots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, allies and enemies, the fate of the Starks hangs perilously in the balance, as each side endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones. In the eagerly awaited second volume in this epic saga, he once again proves himself a master myth-maker, setting a standard against which all other fantasy novels will be measured for years to come. Time is out of joint. The summer of peace and plenty, ten years long, is drawing to a close, and the harsh, chill winter approaches like an angry beast. Two great leaders--Lord Eddard Stark and Robert Baratheon--who held sway over an age of enforced peace are dead...victims of royal treachery. Now, from the ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidding shores of Winterfell, chaos reigns, as pretenders to the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms prepare to stake their claims through tempest, turmoil, and war. As a prophecy of doom cuts across the sky--a comet the color of blood and flame--six factions struggle for control of a divided land. Eddard's son Robb has declared himself King in the North. In the south, Joffrey, the heir apparent, rules in name only, victim of the scheming courtiers who teem over King's Landing. Robert's two brothers each seek their own dominion, while a disfavored house turns once more to conquest. And a continent away, an exiled queen, the Mother of Dragons, risks everything to lead her precious brood across a hard hot desert to win back the crown that is rightfully hers. A Clash of Kings transports us into a magnificent, forgotten land of revelry and revenge, wizardry and warfare. It is a tale in which maidens cavort with madmen, brother plots against brother, and the dead rise to walk in the night. Here a princess masquerades as an orphan boy; a knight of the mind prepares a poison for a treacherous sorceress; and wild men descend from the Mountains of the Moon to ravage the countryside. Against a backdrop of incest and fratricide, alchemy and murder, the price of glory may be measured in blood. And the spoils of victory may just go to the men and women possessed of the coldest steel ... and the coldest hearts. For when rulers clash, all of the land feels the tremors. Audacious, inventive, brilliantly imagined, A Clash of Kings is a novel of dazzling beauty and boundless enchantment--a tale of pure excitement you will never forget.

    Feist.For nearly a year peace reigned in the enchanted kingdom of Rillanon. But new challenges awaited Arutha, the Prince of Krondor, when Jimmy the Hand – the youngest thief in the Guild of Mockers – came upon a sinister Nighthawk poised to assassinate him.What evil power raises the dead and makes corpses do battle with the living at the behest of the Guild of Death? And what high magic can defeat it? Meanwhile, a life-or-death quest must be undertaken to find an antidote to a poison that fells a beautiful princess on her wedding day…And so the Rift War Saga continues…

    He is also dead broke. His vast knowledge and magical skills are unfortunately matched by his talent for making powerful enemies and alienating friends.With rent past due and a decent meal becoming an issue of some importance, he accepts an offer of work from Lt. Karrin Murphy of the Chicago PD Special Investigation Unit – a force tasked to deal with the strange cases no one else wants to get involved with, let alone attempt to solve.Harry finds himself pitted against a multitude of supernatural bad guys in this exciting collection – demons, poltergeists, sorcerers, trolls, vampires, werewolves, and even an evil faerie godmother can’t keep a good wizard down!

    Howard’s Conan the Barbarian, Michael Moorcock’s Elric of Melniboné, Fritz Leiber’s Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. Classic characters like these made sword and sorcery a storytelling sensation, a cornerstone of fantasy fiction — and an inspiration for a new generation of writers, spinning their own outsize tales of magic and swashbuckling adventure. Now, in the Book of Swords, acclaimed editor and bestselling author Gardner Dozois presents an all-new anthology of original epic tales by a stellar cast of award-winning modern masters — many of them set in their authors’ best-loved worlds. Join today’s finest tellers of fantastic tales, including George R.R. Martin, K.J. Parker, Robin Hobb, Ken Liu, C.J. Cherryh, Daniel Abraham, Lavie Tidhar, Ellen Kushner, and more on action-packed journeys into the outer realms of dark enchantment and intrepid derring-do, featuring a stunning assortment of fearless swordsmen and warrior women who face down danger and death at every turn with courage, cunning, and cold steel.Contents:- The Best Man Wins by K.J. Parker- Her Father’s Sword by Robin Hobb- The Hidden Girl by Ken Liu- The Sword of Destiny by Matthew Hughes- "I Am a Handsome Man", Said Apollo Crow by Kate Elliott- The Triumph of Virtue by Walter Jon Williams- The Mocking Tower by Daniel Abraham- Hrunting by C.J. Cherryh- A Long, Cold Trail by Garth Nix- When I Was a Highwayman by Ellen Kushner- The Smoke of Gold Is Glory by Scott Lynch- The Colgrid Conundrum by Rich Larson- The King’s Evil by Elizabeth Bear- Waterfalling by Lavie Tidhar - The Sword Tyraste by Cecelia Holland- The Sons of the Dragon by George R.R. Martin

    For those who haven't met Royce Melborn and Hadrian Blackwater (otherwise known as Riyria) this sampler will provide a brief introduction to them and the world of Elan. This sampler contains short stories previously published as well as a new excerpt from the upcoming book.The Thieves: A band of thieves sets upon two lonely riders in the middle of the night. They had a larger party. They had the element of surprise. There was no reason to be concerned, but they didn’t realize who they were dealing with. Origin: This was a scene written, and cut, for Nyphron Rising (the first novel in the Rise of Empire omnibus). Eventually, it became the opening of Theft of Swords when Orbit purchased and republished the series as three, two-book volumes.The Viscount: Eleven years before they were framed for the murder of a king, before even assuming the title of Riyria, Royce Melborn and Hadrian Blackwater were practically strangers. Unlikely associates, this cynical thief decides to teach his idealist swordsman partner that no good deed goes unpunished. Will Royce wind up proving his point or be schooled himself? Origin: This was published in the fall of 2011 under the title The Viscount and the Witch. It was written to provide a gift to my fans after my books were removed from the market to make room for Orbit’s versions. It’s also the seed that later became The Riyria Chronicles, and this short now appears as the second chapter of The Rose and the Thorn.The Jester: Stop me if you’ve heard this one. A thief, a candlemaker, an ex-mercenary, and a pig farmer walk into a trap…and what happens is no joke. When Riyria is hired to retrieve a jester’s treasure, Royce and Hadrian must match wits with a dwarf who proves to be anything but a fool. Difficult choices will need to be made, and in the end those who laugh last do so because they are the only ones to survive. Origin: First released in the Unfettered anthology (edited by Shawn Speakman and published by Grim Oak Press), I did something a bit unusual with this short story. Faced with a word count restriction, I wrote what is essentially the climax for what could have been a full-length novel. I throw the reader into the middle of the action and make only brief allusions to what had come before. It’s an interesting experiment and seems to have worked out well based on the high praise it has received.The Death of Dulgath: When the last member of the oldest noble family in Avryn is targeted for assassination, Riyria is hired to foil the plot. Three years have passed since the war-weary mercenary Hadrian and the cynical ex-assassin Royce joined forces to start their thieves-for-hire enterprise. Things have gone well enough until this odd assignment to prevent a murder. Now they must venture into a forgotten corner of southern Avryn—a place whose history predates the First Empire. As usual, challenges abound as they try to anticipate the moves of an unknown assassin before it’s too late. But that’s not their only problem. The Countess of Dulgath has a dark secret she’s determined to keep hidden. Then there’s the little matter of Riyria’s new employer…the Nyphron Church. This sample is an excerpt, not a short story. It’s the opening scene to my new novel, which will be coming out before the end of 2015. It hasn’t yet been copy edited (I’m still writing the novel), so please forgive any minor mistakes you may find. I do think it’s in pretty good shape, but I often find my opinion and my editor’s opinion are two different things.

    Roland is the last of his kind, a “gunslinger” charged with protecting whatever goodness and light remains in his world—a world that “moved on,” as they say. In this desolate reality—a dangerous land filled with ancient technology and deadly magic, and yet one that mirrors our own in frightening ways—Roland is on a spellbinding and soul-shattering quest to locate and somehow save the mystical nexus of all worlds, all universes: the Dark Tower. Now, in the graphic novel series Stephen King's The Dark Tower: Beginnings, originally published by Marvel Comics in single-issue form and creatively overseen by Stephen King himself, the full story of Roland's troubled past and coming-of-age is revealed. Sumptuously drawn by Jae Lee and Richard Isanove, plotted by longtime Stephen King expert Robin Furth, and scripted by New York Times bestselling author Peter David, Beginnings is an extraordinary and terrifying journey into Roland’s origins—ultimately serving as the perfect introduction for new readers to Stephen King’s modern literary classic The Dark Tower, while giving longtime fans thrilling adventures merely hinted at in his blockbuster novels. Roland Deschain of Gilead and his ka-tet of Cuthbert Allgood and Alain Johns may have finally returned home, but all is not well in the crown jewel of Mid-World. Roland has voluntarily kept the stolen evil seeing sphere nicknamed “Maerlyn's Grapefruit”—lost in his obsession with peering into its pinkish depths, despite the devastating toll it takes on his health...and what the young gunslinger sees within the glass heralds the darkest of nightmares. Meanwhile, all around him, danger lurks in every form, as the shocking and horrific machinations of Gilead’s sworn enemy, “the Good Man” John Farson, threatens all Roland holds dear and in ways he could never imagine...the cruel hand of fate about to push him inexorably closer along the path to the Dark Tower.

    Here, Uncle Oswald gets more than he bargained for in Arabia . . . The Visitor is taken from the short story collection Switch Bitch, which includes three other black comedies which capture the ins and outs, highs and lows of sex (including another Uncle Oswald story, Bitch). 'One of the most widely read and influential writers of our generation.' (The Times ) This story is also available as a Penguin digital audio download read by Richard E. Grant and Derek Jacobi. Roald Dahl, the brilliant and worldwide acclaimed author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, and many more classics for children, also wrote scores of short stories for adults. These delightfully disturbing tales have often been filmed and were most recently the inspiration for the West End play, Roald Dahl's Twisted Tales by Jeremy Dyson. Roald Dahl's stories continue to make readers shiver today.

    That would be untrue; for though the mightiest mage of the era was forced by law and custom to refrain from visiting his realm in Castal, he had left behind a significant body of learned and dedicated colleagues to continue his policies and see to the protection of the magelands.“These were not all warmagi, nor even High Magi; indeed, the strength of Sevendor depended on magi of all types and descriptions. As Minalan fought against the darkest foes in the West, his lands in the east were protected by his vassals, allies, and friends. Their powers varied, as did their station. But they were uniformly devoted to Minalan the Spellmonger and the land he had wrought. They kept watch against secret incursions or hidden dangers against the realm while the Spellmonger’s strength was elsewhere. Whilst he grappled with the fearsome minions of Korbal the Necromancer, his magical land was well-warded by the famous Wizards of Sevendor.”From the Heeth the Arcanist’s History of the Magelands

    Collected here for the first time are all the classic stories—and one all new tale—by The New York Times best-selling author R.A. Salvatore!From the startling origin of Drizzt’s panther companion, to the tale of Jarlaxle and Entreri’s first encounter with the dragon sisters, the tales in The Collected Stories enrich this epic series, and many are available here for the first time in years.

    This lovely little volume featured stories by Kate Elliott, Kelley Armstrong, C.E. Murhphy and myself. It sold out in a heartbeat.Since then, I’ve heard from a number of readers asking if there is any way to get a copy of the story. I am pleased to say that “Words Like Coins” is now available as a lovely e-book with literally fantastic illustrations by Tom Kidd."

    Follow the adventures and trials of Rand as he learns about his destiny to become the Dragon Reborn, the prophesized leader who will save the world, but at a heavy cost that drives him to reject his given fate. Dark forces surround the characters with an inevitable confrontation between good and evil that captivates every audience. Sparkled with continuous action, adventure, and fantasy, this box set is a sure winner for epic fantasy fans guaranteed! Over 15 Hours of listening time! The Shadow Rising The Dark One is inflicting evil on to the hero, Rand, who must enter the Aiel Waste and the forbidden city of RhuideanÛwhere he may perish. Perrin must confront the Whitecloaks who are sworn to assassinate him while Elayne and Nynaeve must battle the Black Ajah. Listen to find out what develops. The Fires of Heaven Rand is at the forbidden city of Rhuidean where he must keep his current mission a secret. Simultaneously, the Forsaken Rahvin is plotting a victory over Rand. Morgase becomes captivated with the handsome Lord Gaebril, and in the White Tower, Amyrlin, Flaida do Avriny a ÎRoihan, is concocting new plans. There is no doubt why The Fires of Heaven became a New York Times bestseller! Lord of Chaos Rand struggles as he attempts to unite the nations for the Last Battle while The White Tower, under the Amyrlin Elaida, decides that he must be controlled. In addition, a search for the fabled terÌangreal is conducted by Nynaeve alÌMeara and Elayne to restore the incongruous weather conditions. Book six of this series is sure to satisfy. A Crown of Swords Listen as Rand faces the dead Forsaken Sammael in Shadae Logoth! The struggle with the worldÌs brutal and endless heat wave rages on, and Engeu calls together all women who are able to channel including Sea Folk Windfinders and Wise Ones. DonÌt miss this seventh book of non-stop epic adventure!

    Mankind was nearly eradicated by the seemingly unstoppable beasts, until the gods sent the great hero, Ramrowan, to save them. He united the tribes, gave them magic, and drove the demons into the sea. Ever since the land has belonged to man and the oceans have remained an uncrossable hell, leaving the continent of Lok isolated. It was prophesized that someday the demons would return, and only the descendants of Ramrowan would be able to defeat them. They became the first kings, and all men served those who were their only hope for survival.As centuries passed the descendants of the great hero grew in number and power. They became tyrannical and cruel, and their religion nothing but an excuse for greed. Gods and demons became myth and legend, and the people no longer believed. The castes created to serve the Sons of Ramrowan rose up and destroyed their rulers. All religion was banned and replaced by a code of unflinching law. The surviving royalty and their priests were made casteless, condemned to live as untouchables, and the Age of Law began.Ashok Vadal has been chosen by a powerful ancient weapon to be its bearer. He is a Protector, the elite militant order of roving law enforcers. No one is more merciless in rooting out those who secretly practice the old ways. Everything is black or white, good or evil, until he discovers his entire life is a fraud. Ashok isn’t who he thinks he is, and when he finds himself on the wrong side of the law, the consequences lead to rebellion, war—and destruction.At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management)."Bestselling fantasy author Correia (The Grimnoir Chronicles) casts a compelling spell with this India-influenced series opener...Correia skillfully sets in motion this story of plots within plots, revealing complex, sympathetic characters and black-hearted villains with equal detail and insight. Full of action, intrigue, and wry humor, this exciting series launch promises many more thrills to come."— Publishers Weekly Starred Review"Correia is best known for his action-packed urban fantasies (“Monster Hunter Nation” series) so this non-European–set epic fantasy is a pleasant surprise...Fans who like Correia’s fast-moving style will be pleased with the plethora of action scenes, and epic fantasy readers interested in delving into a new universe should be equally satisfied. A solid choice for admirers of Brent Weeks and Brandon Sanderson’s “Mistborn” series."— Library JournalAbout Son of the Black Sword:"This book has everything I like in fantasy: intense action scenes, evil in horrifying array, good struggling against the darkness, and most of all people—gorgeously flawed human beings faced with horrible moral choices that force them to question and change and grow."—Jim Butcher, creator of the New York Times best-selling Dresden Files“I loved the book, it was great, fast paced, with wonderful characters, and also a lot of wonderful scenes that screamed to be painted.”—Larry Elmore, legendary, award-winning artist, and cover artist for Son of the Black Sword.About the Urban Fantasy of Larry Correia:“[A] no-holds-barred all-out page turner that is part science fiction, part horror, and an absolute blast to read.”—Bookreporter.

    Tonight, though, Cullin will educate the prince in the truth behind minstrels' silly songs of glory.Long ago, in a kingdom, well, not that far from here really, young Cullin traveled the countryside as squire to brave Sir Dalbry, along with Dalbry's trusted sidekick Reeger, selling dragon-protection services to every kingdom with a coffer. There were no dragons, of course, but with a collection of severed alligator heads and a willingness to play dirty, the trio of con men was crushing the competition. Then along came Princess Affonyl.Tomboyish and with a head for alchemy, Affonyl faked a dragon of her own, escaped her arranged marriage, and threw in with Cullin and company. But with her father sending a crew of do-gooder knights to find her, the dragon business just got cutthroat.

    In this action-packed conclusion to the Night Angel Trilogy, the assassin Kylar Stern faces an assignment that might prove impossible even for his deadly skills - kill a goddess.

    That’s when New York Times best-selling author Terry Brooks offered to donate a short story Shawn could sell toward alleviating those bills—and suggested Shawn ask the same of his other friends.Unfettered is the result, an anthology built to relieve that debt, featuring short stories by some of the best fantasy writers in the genre.Every story in this volume is new and, like the title suggests, the writers were free to write whatever they wished. Authors contributing are -Walker and the Shade of Allanon by Terry Brooks (a Shannara tale)-Imaginary Friends by Terry Brooks (a precursor to the Word/Void trilogy)-How Old Holly Came To Be by Patrick Rothfuss (a Four Corners tale)-River of Souls by Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson (a Wheel of Time tale)-The Old Scale Game by Tad Williams-Martyr of the Roses by Jacqueline Carey (a precursor to the Kushiel series)-Dogs by Daniel Abraham-Mudboy by Peter V. Brett (a Demon Cycle tale)-Nocturne by Robert V. S. Redick-The Sound of Broken Absolutes by Peter Orullian (a Vault of Heaven tale)-The Coach with Big Teeth by R.A. Salvatore-Keeper of Memory by Todd Lockwood (a Summer Dragon tale)-Game of Chance by Carrie Vaughn-The Lasting Doubts of Joaquin Lopez by Blake Charlton-The Chapel Perilous by Kevin Hearne (an Iron Druid tale)-Select Mode by Mark Lawrence (a Broken Empire tale)-All the Girls Love Michael Stein by David Anthony Durham-Strange Rain by Jennifer Bosworth (a Struck epilogue tale)-Unbowed by Eldon Thompson (a Legend of Asahiel tale)-In Favour with Their Stars by Naomi Novik (a Temeraire tale)-The Jester by Michael J. Sullivan (a Riyria Chronicles tale)-The Duel by Lev Grossman (a Magicians tale)-The Unfettered Knight by Shawn Speakman (an Annwn Cycle tale)and artist Todd Lockwood, who donated artwork as well as a story.With the help of stalwart friends and these wonderful short stories, Shawn has taken the gravest of life hardships and created something magical. Unfettered is not only a fantastic anthology in its own right but it’s a testament to the generosity found in the science fiction and fantasy community—proof that humanity can give beyond itself when the need arises.After all, isn’t that the driving narrative in fantasy literature?