Book picks similar to
The First Name by Dennis Schmidt
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Lord of the Isles
David Drake - 1997
She has survived the cataclysm that destroyed the powerful empire of the Isles in her time. She finds herself in a small town far from the new centers of power, but among a small group who, all unknowing, will become the focus of a new struggle for dominance and magical power that will shake this world, and others. For The Hooded One, the most powerful sorcerer of all time, has also survived the ancient catastrophe he created. The peace of the small village is destroyed in an instant, and the young principles must set out on a quest to meet their destiny.
Words of Radiance: The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson -- Sidekick
BookBuddy - 2014
Do not buy this "Sidekick" if you are looking for a full copy of this great book. "The Stormlight Archive" series from Brandon Sanderson began in 2010 with "The Way of Kings," a New York Times best seller. This sidekick to the next in the series, "Words of Radiance," helps you answer many of the questions left by the first in the series. The motives are deep in "Words of Radiance," and this sidekick is the ideal tool to walk you through the world of Roshar, as you delve into the mind and soul of each character. Years ago, during the celebration to honor the treaty between Parshendi and men, the Assassin in White murdered the Alethi king, at the behest of Parshendi. Now, the Assassin is back and looking for blood, especially the blood of he who is the backbone of the Alethi throne: Highprince Dalinar. No longer seen as a meaningless military pawn, Kaladin commands the king's bodyguards, a first for a lowly "darkeye." Now, he must not only protect Dalinar and the king from typical dangers, he must also find a way to keep the Assassin at bay. Take advantage of this sidekick as you travel to Shattered Plains to watch the Parshendi, led by Eshonai, rely on the same supernatural forces they once feared. Learn about the many ways the characters relate to the themes prejudice and religion in "Words of Radiance."
Time
Stephen Baxter - 1999
More than a century of ecological damage, industrial and technological expansion, and unchecked population growth has left the Earth on the brink of devastation. As the world’s governments turn inward, one man dares to envision a bolder, brighter future. That man, Reid Malenfant, has a very different solution to the problems plaguing the planet: the exploration and colonization of space. Now Malenfant gambles the very existence of time on a single desperate throw of the dice. Battling national sabotage and international outcry, as apocalyptic riots sweep the globe, he builds a spacecraft and launches it into deep space. The odds are a trillion to one against him. Or are they?
Thief's Magic
Trudi Canavan - 2014
Once a young sorcerer-bookbinder, Vella was transformed into a useful tool by one of the greatest sorcerers of history. Since then she has been collecting information, including a vital clue to the disaster Tyen's world faces. Elsewhere, in an land ruled by the priests, Rielle the dyer's daughter has been taught that to use magic is to steal from the Angels. Yet she knows she has a talent for it, and that there is a corrupter in the city willing to teach her how to use it -- should she dare to risk the Angels' wrath.But not everything is as Tyen and Rielle have been raised to believe. Not the nature of magic, nor the laws of their lands... and not even the people they trust.
Sir Apropos of Nothing
Peter David - 2001
Lame of leg but fast of wit, the only reason Apropos doesn't consider chivalry dead is because he's not yet through with it. Herewith, Sir Apropos of Nothing -- his story in the words of the knave himself.Apropos, all too aware of his violent and unseemly beginnings, travels to the court of the good King Runcible, with three goals in mind: to find his father, seek retribution, and line his own pockets. However, Apropos carries the most troublesome burden a would-be harbinger of chaos can bear: He may well be a hero foretold, a young man of destiny. It is not a notion that Apropos finds palatable, having very low regard for such notions as honor, selflessness, or risking one's neck. Yet when Apropos finds himself assigned as squire to the most senile knight in the court -- Sir Umbrage of the Flaming Nether Regions, whose squires tend to have a rather short life span -- Apropos is forced to rise to the occasion lest he be dragged under -- permanently.His difficulties are compounded when a routine mission to escort the King's daughter home after a long absence goes horribly awry. Suddenly Apropos finds himself saddled with trying to survive while dealing with a berserk phoenix, murderous unicorns, mutated harpies, homicidal warrior kings, and -- most problematic of all -- a princess who may or may not be a psychotic arsonist. Featuring a hero cut from cloth similar to that of such entertaining blackguards as Blackadder and Flashman, Sir Apropos of Nothing is a skewed version of classic, mythic adventure that is by turns hilarious and frightening, slapstick and serious, and filled with drop-dead laughs and drop-dead people.
Dragonworld
Byron Preiss - 1979
This is the tale of the twilight of the dragons, of two nations plunged into war by a tragic misunderstanding, of a shy dreamer's incredible voyage of peace to a long-forgotten land where nightmares are born. A magnificient creation, a sweeping epic of high fantasy set in a richly imagined world, vividly brought to life with over eighty pages of stunning illustrations by Joseph Zucker.