Book picks similar to
Lior and the Sea by Diane Duane


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The Hunt


Susan Sizemore - 1999
    An elite group of vampires who must serve and protect their secret community – and uphold the… LAWS OF THE BLOODIn Los Angeles, the Enforcer Selim has been called upon to approve a hunt. Much time has passed since the vampires of the city have last tasted fresh blood, and they are clamoring for the kill. It’s Selim’s job to keep them under control – and there are those who resent his authority.He must not waver or show weakness when he gives the Law – his life and the life of his mortal love, Siri, depend on his strength. But a whispered rumor is distracting him, a rumor of betrayal, of a violation of the most sacred of the Laws: Never reveal the truth about your own kind… THE HUNT

Caliban's Hour


Tad Williams - 1994
    Caliban is the Beast who finds in Prospero's daughter, Miranda, the Beauty to whom he tells his incredible story--an extraordinary tale of dark desires and shining wizardry.

Magic Ingredient


Kimberly Frost - 2013
    A short story taking place several years before Would-Be Witch begins, and from Bryn Lyons' point of view for the first time.

King's Dragon


Kate Elliott - 1997
    King Henry still holds the crown, but his reign has long been contested by his sister Sabella, and there are many eager to flock to her banner. Internal conflict weakens Wendar's defences, drawing raiders, human and inhuman, across its borders. Terrifying portents abound and dark spirits walk the land in broad daylight.Suddenly two innocents are thrust into the midst of the conflict. Alain, a young man granted a vision by the Lady of Battles, and Liath, a young woman with the power to change the course of history. Both must discover the truth about themselves before they can accept their fates. For in a war where sorcery, not swords, may determine the final outcome, the price of failure may be more than their own lives.

The Ape Man's Brother


Joe R. Lansdale - 2012
    It’s a wonderful existence for someone like The Big Guy and his furry brother, except for the flea problem. Then an expedition of explorers from the outside turn his world inside out. Or rather a very blonde beauty called The Woman does. It leads to his and his ape brother being convinced to fly to New York by zeppelin, where they become the toast of the town. They even make Hollywood movies. It seems perfect. At least until The Big Guy does something that comes quite naturally to him in the wild, but leads to public humiliation in this new found world. To make matters worse, his ape brother has grown to not only love the pampered life, meals he doesn’t have to chase down, good cigars, fine wines and statuesque women, he’s come to like the Wrong Woman.Changes are afoot. They lead to a return to the world beneath the mist, and a deadly and unexpected encounter with a foe that is in many ways far worse than any dinosaur. Envy, jealousy, greed, fleas, and pyramids under the mist, are all part of this rollicking novella of the sort only Joe R. Lansdale could write. And don’t forget dinosaurs.

In Legend Born


Laura Resnick - 1998
    Villages have been razed, and the innocent populace dragged to the mines, there to toil until death with no hope of escape.But there is hope. Five disparate people have been brought reluctantly together by the prophesy of a young Guardian--a prophesy that promises the coming of a savior. These five must put aside ages-old blood feuds before the conquerors force all to bend to their vicious will...

Forsaken House


Richard Baker - 2004
    Original.

Dreaming Darkness: Volume One


Kelley Armstrong - 2020
    All four stories in this volume have been previously published.Volume One Contents•The Girl in the Carnival Gown•Last Stand•Nos Galan Gaeaf•A Haunted House of Her Own

Hardfought/Cascade Point


Greg Bear - 1988
    Authors Greg Bear (Eon) and Timothy Zahn (The Last Command) provide non-stop, heart-pounding action that will keep readers on edge until the final page.

Overlords of the Iron Dragon


C.L. Werner - 2017
    The duardin have developed new technology and weapons of war, and now they sail the skies in their amazing airships, seeking wealth and plunder. Brokrin Ullissonn, Captain of the Ang Drak, has a reputation for bad luck. Unless his fortune turns, and soon, he will lose his ship and his livelihood. When he and his crew discover the location of a source of aether-gold of unparalleled quality, the temptation is too strong to resist. No matter what dangers present themselves, the duardin desire wealth beyond all. But when Brokrinn realises what the true cost of the aether-gold will be, is it too late for him to save himself, his crew, and his ship?

The Empyrean Odyssey


Thomas M. Reid - 2011
    But before she can complete a mission in that besieged city, Aliisza finds herself in the one place a demon would never want to go, no matter how sure she is of her wits and cunning: the very heart of Celestia. But Aliisza soon discovers that being held captive in Celestia is just a distraction for a far deeper and more deadly scheme. One that threatens all of the Forgotten Realms® world. One that, as much as she hates to admit it, the angels of Celestia really should know about. But how is she going to convince the angels that she, a demon, could have more in mind than destruction?The Empyrean Odyssey features the return of popular characters Alissza and Kaanyr Vhok, from Thomas Reid’s Insurrection, the first book in The New York Times bestselling series R.A. Salvatore’s The War of the Spider Queen. Forgotten Realms fans won’t want to miss the truly Realms-shaking events of this epic tale of two fiends struggling to escape the heart of a deeply troubled Celestia.

At the Queen's Command


Michael A. Stackpole - 2010
    At the Queen's command, Owen's mission is to survey this vast, uncharted territory, performing reconnaissance of rival Tharyngians and the savage Twilight People of the wilderness.Prince Vladimir is a Norillian noble, nephew to the Queen. Though he has little real political power, he struggles to ensure the colonists' interests are represented back in Norisle. The one thing he does have is a wurm... one of the few existing dragons from a clutch of eggs discovered in the old world, hundreds of years ago.As Mystria swirls into chaos, Owen becomes prisoner of a Tharyngian necromancer. Meanwhile, Vlad is to be married off to an old world princess, an alliance supposed to help supply money and mercenaries to put down the various insurrections. But, nobody suspects that Vlad's wurm is about to undergo a change that will impact the world's delicate political balance...From New York Times-bestselling author Michael A. Stackpole (Rogue Squadron, I, Jedi) comes At the Queen's Command, the first book of The Crown Colonies, a new fantasy series re-imagining the events of the American Revolutionary War.

Masques and Wolfsbane


Patricia Briggs - 2011
    In it we meet Aralorn, a shapeshifter who fled her noble existence for a life of adventure as a mercenary spy. A jewel in the rough, Masques promised a sequel that never saw the light of day...until now. Together with the newly revised and updated first novel, Wolfsbane weaves a sinuous story of romance, danger, mystery, and magic. Masques & Wolfsbane delivers the first two tales of the Sianim saga in one fast and fiercely fun volume. In Masques, Aralorn and her companion Wolf—a shapeshifter whose feral form hides a mysterious past—are sent to fight Geoffrey ae’Magi, a sorcerer with dangerous plans for Aralorn’s homeland...and all mankind. But can they defeat his illusory magic—a power so great it transforms men and monsters into vacuous slaves? In Wolfsbane, Aralorn and Wolf must come to terms with their feelings for each other as they return home for her father’s funeral. Yet when they arrive, they learn that the Lyon of Lambshold is not dead, but trapped in a powerful spell. Can they find who’s behind it...before Aralorn falls to the blackest of magics?

A Garrison Report: Magic Hath An Element


C.E. Murphy - 2011
    The first chapters of URBAN SHAMAN, as seen through Gary’s eyes instead of Joanne’sWritten as flavor text for part of a Kickstarter campaign, this is the first couple chapters of URBAN SHAMAN from Gary’s point of view. (The link goes to the first chapter from the point of view of the Walker Papers’ narrator/main character Joanne Walker :)). Enjoy!

Book of Iron


Elizabeth Bear - 2013
    She and her partner—and rival—Kaulas the Necromancer, along with the martial Prince Salih, comprise the Bey's elite band of trouble-solvingadventurers.But Messaline is built on the ruins of a still more ancient City of Jackals. So when two foreign Wizards and a bard from the mysterious western isles cross the desert in pursuit of a sorcerer intent on plundering the deadly artifacts of lost Erem, Bijou and her companions must join their hunt.The quest will take them through strange passages, beneath the killing light of alien suns, with the price of failure the destruction of every land