Book picks similar to
The Guardians by Christopher Williams
fantasy
fiction
epic-fantasy
magic
Eternal Knight
Matt Heppe - 2011
And now, cannibal raiders have struck the forest refuge of Long Meadow. A huntress, Hadde of Landomere, bears the impossible burden of protecting and providing for her people. With no hope remaining for the survival of Long Meadow, Hadde sets off to seek aid from the distant kingdom of Salador.Unlike Hadde's egalitarian homeland, Salador is a highly stratified, male-dominated world of politics, war, and deceit, teeming with its own problems. When King Boradin comes to believe Hadde is part of a prophecy that will end the Wasting, he refuses her request for aid and bars her from returning home. Hadde’s only ally is the king’s brother and political rival, Morin. When scheming turns to violence, Hadde and Morin flee the king in a desperate quest to end the Wasting before it is too late.
Blood and Steel
Martin Parece - 2011
Aquis is the largest of the Western Kingdoms, ruled by its benificent Queen Erella, High Priestess to Garod, leader of the gods of light.The son of a farmer in the bountiful kingdom Aquis, Cor Pelson had always been different. Shortly after he was born came the horrific coughing attacks, and his skin changed color to a gray reminiscent of the grave. He is a Dahken, a race the Loszian necromancers fear, reviled by the Western priests, and thought extinct by both. As a child, strangers entered his life, even if only briefly, and drove home that there are those that would bend him to their wills. Frightened and determined to protect those he loves, Cor steals away from home. He finds that the world is not the good, safe place that his parents taught him of, but in fact is a cruel, brutal place where blood flows readily and the ability to protect himself is paramount.He finds, even on the open sea, that those who would control the power within his blood follow him, intent on inflicting harm upon those around him. He must learn to tap the power within his blood to find his own path, take revenge and build a new world for his kind.
Broken Realms
D.W. Moneypenny - 2014
That's about to change.After a jetliner plunges into the Columbia River near Portland, Oregon, everyone survives. So why do crash investigators have a hangar full of bodies, one for each passenger except Mara? Before the plane goes down, she glimpses a new reality, one with scales and snouts, fangs and gills. She sees a boy running down the aisle carrying a ball of blue light, chased by a girl who could be her clone. By trying to help, she unwittingly unleashes dozens of creatures on an unsuspecting world and sparks a series of events that threatens her life, her family and everything she believes. To save them, she has to embrace a power she cannot comprehend.
A Spy Came Home
H.N. Wake - 2014
Massacres are taking place in communities on a regular basis. In schools, lockdown drills are now as commonplace as fire drills. Politicians on Capitol Hill, impotent in the face of one of the most influential lobbying powers, have failed to pass gun legislation since 1994. Mac Ambrose, a twenty-year, international veteran of the CIA, is recruited by her closest friends to run a domestic operation: bring down the gun lobby by any means necessary so the Senate can pass a new assault weapons ban. In four weeks. From the hearing rooms of Capitol Hill, to the rolling hills of Kentucky and the wealthy suburbs of New Orleans, Mac flawlessly sets the traps of a multi-pronged strategy to ensnare a lawmaker, a lobbyist and a gun manufacturer. From a safe house in Philadelphia, she rediscovers relationships forsaken in the name of national security.
Unofficial Detective
Kathryn Wells - 2017
All over Dinia, half-wizards are treated the same, their magic labelled as dangerous and uncontrollable. When High Wizard Kalljard is murdered, it falls to young Thordric to solve the case. The only trouble? The murder was done by magic, and though Thordric is a half-wizard, he has never fully used his powers. To prove himself right and find the murderer, Thordric has to learn how to control his own powers. But can he learn fast enough, and find the perpetrator in time?
City of Blaze
H.O. Charles - 2011
Its soldiers find entertainment in the beds of the castle's servants rather than fight, believing they are safe from the deadly embrace of wielders. Wars are fought to encourage otherwise absent mortality, and countless citizens suffer the terrible pangs of nalka - the hunger for intimacy. All the while, Cadra's king concerns himself with choosing which of his disappointing concubines to execute next. The duty falls upon his son, Morghiad, to restore the city's strength and the army's purpose. As Morghiad attempts to do just that, he uncovers darker horrors and encounters a young servant who could either be his greatest ally or his greatest hindrance.
Dawning
M.S. Verish - 2012
He is a Demon, surrounded by the chaos inherent in his own shadowy nature, and it is the magic of Shadow that is killing him. Unwilling to accept his imminent demise, the nameless Demon embarks on a mission to find the witches who may hold his cure. He discovers the alternative to his death may be a greater price than he is willing to accept, and what is acceptance in a world full of Humans?In the company of the immortal prisoner he has liberated, the Demon struggles to survive, understand who he is, and shape a future that once seemed impossible. It is, for better or worse, a new beginning, a Dawning in this foreign world.
Children of Avalon
S.E. Wright - 2016
On Earth a four year old Kyah was found in an abandoned house with no memory of who she was or how she got there. But all that changes twenty-one years later when she is shoved through a shimmering door into a realm of fantasy that she thought only existed as stories. Handed a mission by ancient powers, she must figure out how to defeat those intent on bringing the darkness into the light. In the realm of Avalon, Kyah finds strange and legendary new friends along with new found powers. These powers will help her and her new friends fight the darkness and save a town and its children. If she survives the encounter with the darkness she will be set on another path to find out who and what she is. This action-packed fantasy blurs the lines with science fiction twisting legendary heroes and mythical stories into a whole new multiverse.
The God King
James A. West - 2011
But he cannot go home yet. Against his better judgment, he agrees to take a spoiled prince into the Qaharadin Marshes, a treacherous place all sane men avoid.After arriving at a deserted temple, the prince vanishes within. When a column of blue fire erupts from the temple and pierces the heavens, Kian rushes to help. What he finds emerging from the temple is not the prince, but a horror unleashed from the Thousand Hells.Now Kian must draw upon all of his strength, courage, and skill to survive—because if he dies, the world dies with him.Reading order:The God King (book one)Crown of the Setting Sun (book two)Shadow and Steel coming April 2013!Other series by James A. West: Songs of the ScorpionReaper of Sorrows (book one)
Brightflame Accension
D.B. Penner - 2014
Content with working and living in his small world, Will never expected that a trip to the county fair would change everything. Suddenly, at his father's request, Will is summoned to enroll at Bladebeard Academy--the Empire's premiere military academy--where, with the help of some new friends, he hopes to uncover clues about his father's past and to learn to control his newly discovered powers. However, Will quickly finds that he is not without enemies at Bladebeard Academy, making his task difficult. There is more than meets the eye at the Academy, and it's up to Will to stop the growing shadow that's threatening to throw the Academy and the entire Empire into chaos. Enter a world of magic and swordplay in this action-packed fantasy novel by D.B. Penner
The Shaman's Curse
Meredith Mansfield - 2014
In his isolation, Vatar finds some comfort in daydreams. He knows the strange girl he sometimes imagines is just that--a dream. She’d better be.Because, if she’s real things could get even worse for Vatar. The accepted magic of Vatar’s plains tribe wouldn’t enable him to see or communicate with a girl he doesn’t even know--or know where to find. That would be more like the magic passed down in certain, closely-guarded bloodlines among the ruling class of the coastal cities. And that’s bad. Very bad.Unlike their own, Vatar’s people think the city magic is evil. If the shaman ever found out, it could be the weapon he needs to destroy Vatar. And yet, finding a way to accept the other side of his heritage may be the only way Vatar can ultimately defeat his enemy.The two kinds of magic have always been totally separate. Until now.
The Blacksmith's Son
Michael G. Manning - 2011
As he journeys to understand the power within him he is drawn into a dangerous plot to destroy the Duke of Lancaster and undermine the Kingdom of Lothion. Love and treachery combine to embroil him in events he was never prepared to face. What he uncovers will change his understanding of the past, and alter the future of those around him.
Darkness Rising
James E. Wisher - 2016
Cloud is a failure. Born with the most powerful soul force anyone has ever seen, he can't get it to work. The next in a long line of warlords, Damien is a disappointment to his legendary father and a weakling compared to his perfect sister. Everything Changes when a visiting sorcerer proclaims Damien isn't a warlord at all, but a sorcerer! Damien is thrust into a world of magic and intrigue, war and death. Behind the scenes a dark and ancient evil is rising once more, intent on destroying everything Damien cares about. Can Damien, along with his sister and allies expose this evil and save the kingdom? Read on for a tale of action and adventure, love and friendship. The Darkness is rising. Who will survive?
Union of Renegades
Tracy Falbe - 2006
He is the first to join the powerful rys spellcaster Shan, whose race possesses magical powers and whose Queen Onja rules many human kingdoms as their Goddess. The wickedness and tyranny of Onja disgust Shan and he desires to seize the rys throne from her. The third renegade is Miranda. After escaping from her abusive slave master, she becomes a crucial player in Shan's bid for power. To weaken Onja, Shan raises rebellion among her human subjects and gathers allies to his cause. Shan demonstrates his magic in battle and convinces his followers that the fearsome rys Queen can be overthrown. For over two thousand years Onja has ruled, but now, not even fear of her ability to enslave souls will stop her ambitious enemies.
The Devotee: Magic Academy
Oksana Grinberga - 2017
But instead, I entered a world of magic that saw me fighting for my life.” Layne Vayris has lost the two most dearest people to her. Her mentor and her Uncle Niklas. Each have tasked her with delivering their last requests. Layne’s mentor requires three letters to be delivered on specific dates and specific times. Whereas her Uncle Niklas has asked that she deliver an unusual book of his, to an unworthy previous student called Goter. To complete their dying wishes she must leave her peaceful and tranquil village of Wolverdell to enter a bustling city of magic and depravity. There she meets a young homeless boy called Remi, who guides her through the city. Their friendship spurs her on to find the first addressee of the three letters, a Master Sharrez. But Master Sharrez is aloof and spends his time in whore houses, making an audience with him near on impossible. Layne realizes that the only way to fulfill her promise to her dead mentor is to join the Academy of Magic, where the warlock Sharrez teaches the Faculty of Dark Magic. Except this decision comes with its own demons and Layne finds herself setting off on a path she never envisaged. A path that leads her to discover her own dormant magic, which becomes all consuming and more powerful than anyone has ever seen before. But with power comes enemies. And in trying to deliver her second letter, she finds that not all ‘old’ friends are friends, and things take a turn for the worst. Layne finds herself having to fight for her life with some unlikely friends to boot. Will Layne be able to deliver the third letter in time? Will she pass on her Uncle’s book to the unworthy Goter? Or will the power of magic end her before she's even begun?