He had imprisoned them in the caverns of Mt. Hemil. They who ravaged the city of Kushlam...The golden capital... The Gods spoke of a Prophecy then... And now it has come to pass. The dark enemy of yore rises. Only an incarnation of Lord Vishnu has the power to defeat and destroy the enemy of Kushlam. A farmer from Bamiyan, unaware of what destiny has in store for him, is pushed into circumstances beyond his control. Will he accept that he is the prophesised Avatar? Will he save Kushlam from its enemies and free the world from the fear of the trapped monsters who have found a way out of their infallible trap?

    In the south the Star Towers fell, swallowed by the sea, while the black glaciers descended upon the northern holdfasts, entombing the cities of Min-Ceruth in ice and sorcery. Then from the ancient empire of Menekar the paladins of Ama came, putting every surviving sorcerer to the sword and cleansing their taint from the land for the radiant glory of their lord. The pulse of magic slowed, fading like the heartbeat of a dying man. But after a thousand years it has begun to quicken again. In a small fishing village a boy with strange powers comes of age... A young queen rises in the west, fanning the long-smoldering embers of magic into a blaze once more... Something of great importance is stolen – or freed – from the mysterious Empire of Swords and Flowers... And the immortals who survived the ancient cataclysms bestir themselves, casting about for why the world is suddenly changing... The complete, award-winning epic series in one volume

    The waltzing dead.A town of corpses happy in their homestead.But darkness crept in, drawn by venom and spite,Corrupting the island for its twisted delight.A plague of decay sweeps over the land,Reducing its victims to grains of sand.To protect her people, the Corpse Queen must rise,And gather what’s left of her crumbling allies.Can the queen save them all from their grisly plight?Or will she be hunted when her past comes to light?

    When a demented Master Mage intends to unleash the unholy power of these ancient artifacts, it will fall to five unlikely heroes to stop him. The battle for the fate of the realm has only just begun...Legend has it that a demented sorcerer named Andarus sought to harness the power of creation…to bend it to his will. He searched throughout the realm for mystical vessels that could contain such unfathomable power and The Stones of Andarus were created. The Stones are said to contain a fragment of the power of creation along with the dark, twisted soul of the sorcerer Andarus.On this account, the legends are true.The fate of The Stones through history is not known. Some say that, despite their awesome power, they were destroyed long ago. Others claim they were divided and hidden away in the far corners of the land. Yet others believe the sinister power of the Stones has faded over the great span of time since their creation, and can never be a threat again. Then there are those who say the tale of the Stones is nothing but pure fantasy.On this account, the legends are dead wrong.Xavier, an unstable and evil Master Mage, has spent his life perfecting his mastery of not only the Mystical Arts, but the forbidden magic of the Dark Mystics. Now, at the peak of his sinister power, he has the Stones of Andarus and intends to not only unleash their unholy power, but attempt to control it.Such power, twisted by the crazed essence of a mad man, can never be controlled and dared not be unleashed, but Xavier believes he has the power and the skill to accomplish the impossible.Enter Daimion Devenshire, a mysterious loner with seductive charms, dark secrets and deep scars. He is a minor mage of the Mystical Arts, but there is a power within him that not even he is aware of...at least not yet. When he learns that Xavier has the Stones, he knows that the mad man has to be stopped or the entire realm could be forever altered if not destroyed. Joining him on his desperate quest are The Lady Brianna Standish, seductively beautiful and fiercely independent. She is a woman who lives her life on her terms, much to the chagrin of medieval society. Raven Darkseed is a rouge Adept Mage of the Mystical Arts and the closest thing to a best friend to Devenshire. Shantira Dubris is a young village woman set on vengeance and torn by the storm of emotions and sensations that Devenshrie stirs within her. Zandorth Krahl is a warrior of the Ancient Class, a vanishing breed of men who value honor and integrity above all else.From the beginning, Devenshire and company are pursued…by both friend and foe. Darius Thieberian, a vampire with special designs on Brianna, stalks the group with motives as dark as the night he lives in. Rachelle Tambrey, a unique vampire with an unexplainable interest in Devenshire, follows as well. Add a compliment of the King’s Royal Guards who have been convinced that Devenshire is a vampire by an ex-vampire hunter turned bandit, and the group’s efforts to save the realm are thwarted at every turn.Through trials and tribulations, deceptions and betrayals this group of unlikely heroes must face many obstacles in their epic quest to stop Xavier, including an opponent fiercer than any they have ever faced…the demons within themselves.The battle for the fate of the realm has only just begun...

    A dashing dragon rider in the right place at the wrong time. And an unlikely pirate captain with nothing left to lose.Being a dragon rider is not in Anakisha’s plans. And Anakisha’s stubborn. She’s not giving up her dreams anytime soon.When Anakisha’s brother is murdered by a gang, she joins the Night Wings, a team of local vigilantes, and takes to the streets to avenge him. With a soft spot for defending underdogs, she’s found her niche.The Night Wing’s leader is the dreamy golden-haired son of the village arbitrator — a fine catch. If she can impress his father, she can marry him and improve her family’s fortune. But the underbelly of Fieldhaven is rife with politics and deceit. Although Anakisha is good with a bow and a dagger, she’s not always the best judge of character…And her plans do not include a dragon.But then, the King’s Rider appears on his sleek onyx dragon.And a bloodthirsty pirate captain rises to power, spreading terror on the Naobian Sea.Leaving Anakisha torn between her dream and her duty…

    She accepts, only to find that this world treats magic users the same way hers did— by hunting them down for heresy.She will be hunted by the Church, shunned by her peers, having to fight both people and monsters to survive. When faced with inquisitors, slavers, terrorists, and more, Melas will have no choice but to overcome them to seize her own destiny, or fail and run from it all.

    It tells the story of Aram, a field-tender, the lowest order of slaves in the empire of Manon the Great, the grim lord of the world. Transported eastward from the plains to the fringe of mountainous regions upon the borders of the empire for the purpose of opening up new lands, Aram resolves to escape and become something of which, as the son of slaves for generations, he has no real concept - a free man. Seizing the unexpected opportunity provided by a sudden, fierce, and blinding thunderstorm, he escapes from the fields of his servitude and flees into the wild. Hunted by servants of the grim lord and by wild beasts alike, he delves ever deeper into the wilderness, seeking liberty. Desiring only his freedom and the chance to live at peace, he finds instead a destiny he did not seek, and becomes something much more than he ever imagined.

    He learns a great many things that he has never known or dreamed about the world beyond his family's small farm. He begins to learn the secrets of the memory stones, the extraordinary objects that can store information for people. He learns to handle weapons, and puts his knowledge to use in the turbulent world he experiences. And he learns that even though a beautiful young daughter of a high noble family is beyond a commoner's reach, he can dream about breaking through that social barrier!

    Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: The Death Gate Cycle, Into the Labyrinth, the Hand of Chaos, Dragon Wing, Serpent Mage, the Seventh Gate, Fire Sea, Elven Star. Source: Wikipedia. Free updates online. Not illustrated. Excerpt: The Death Gate Cycle is a seven-part series of fantasy novels written by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. The main conflict is between two powerful races, the Sartan and the Patryns, which branched off from humans following a nuclear holocaust. Centuries prior to the events of the series, the Sartan attempted to end the conflict by sundering the earth into four elemental realms, and imprisoning the Patryn in a fifth prison world, the Labyrinth. The Sartan took up stewardship of the elemental realms, but soon mysteriously lost contact with each other and disappeared. Centuries later, a Patryn known as Xar escaped the Labyrinth, and started returning to the Labyrinth to rescue others. He learned how to access the other worlds and dreamed of freeing all his people from the Labyrinth and conquering the other worlds. The books follow the fiercely independent Haplo, a Patryn agent sent to scout the elemental worlds and throw them into chaos in preparation for his Lord's conquest of them. Weis and Hickman created five distinct fantasy worlds during the course of the series, along with developing the cultures of five major races, their unique Patryn and Sartan, and the common fantasy races of dwarves, elves, and humans. "Margaret and I have always tried to take fantasy literature in new directions. Krynn is a world wholly distinct from Earth, unlike Tolkien's Middle-earth. Time travel itself was a science-fiction notion we applied to fantasy. We have even written fantasies taking place in the far future (The Death Gate Cycle) " Tracy Hickman, The Annotated Dragonlan...More: http: //booksllc.net/?id=121546

     But Roland and his men were drawn through a magical gate, to a new and strange world of magic and deadly creatures. A world where every man, no matter what his estate or rank, no matter how poor or common or rich and influential, was born with the power of magic. But the magic of this world carries a deadly curse, and the price for abusing its power is ruinous. This, then, is the story of the kingdom they built, and the knight who would decide its fate.

    But the elves turn out to be more dangerous than he bargained for, seeking to rip open the veil between Tallia and Llandra and unleash swarming hordes of unspeakable horrors. Even worse, Berry seems to be on their side!Determined to stop them, Randall races against time to find the one artifact that can save Tallia, or destroy it.

    Jones's epic fantasy adventure series. THE BAKER'S BOY At vast Castle Harvell, Where King Lesketh lies dying, two fates collide. 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... A MAN BETRAYED At Castle Harvell demented Prince Kylock grabs the reins of power and hate by murdering his father. Harvell's two young refugees are torn apart by the storms of war:Headstrong young Melliandra is captured by brutal slavers and Jack, whose wild power works miracles, falls prey to a smuggler's lying charms and a woman's seductive schemes. Meanwhile, in the distant stronghold of Bren, Kylock's betrothed, beautiful, mad Catherine, dabbles with darkest sorceries. A knight's shattered destiny is about to lead from death-sport pits to the blood-strewn creation of an empire--and a wondrous epic of grandeur and magic continues... MASTER AND FOOL The Known Lands are teetering on the brink of war. Desperate to avert worldwide catastrophe, Jack, the baker's boy, must learn to harness the full strength of his magic to face his ultimate destiny--a final confrontation with the murderously evil Kylock

    Legends of the Drenai: Legend / The King Beyond the Gate / Quest for Lost Heroes

    He dreams of finding a quiet place, far beyond the ever-expanding reach of civilization, where he can sheath his sword for good.But he can't look the other way when he passes through a town caught in a duel between two powerful organizations. The graveyard outside of town is full, and innocents hide in their homes, hoping to survive the coming battle.Before long, Tomas is caught within the web of the escalating conflict, a lone swordsman standing against two violent forces that seek to control the town and the unnatural power it contains. He quickly appears destined to join countless others in their unmarked graves.But Tomas has a secret, too. And it would be a mistake to underestimate him.His war isn't over yet.