Epic Cycle

I started reviewing all of the things I had done over the past two years, memories flicking through my head almost too fast to follow. Each choice led to another: my choice to leave my home in Tobadorage and seek refuge in Hain led directly to my actions now, bringing a Queen into exile. And each choice, each action on my part, had started the chain reaction that was bringing magic back into Chahir.

It all ends here. It ends as Livia Serafini returns to her homeland with an army at her back, an exiled refugee turned ruthless conqueror, bringing war and witchcraft to any who dare stand in her way. It ends as Renata Nicchi and her ragged band of hunters and outlaws infiltrate a city under siege, making a last, desperate bid to save her lover from the jaws of the criminal underworld and be reunited at last.

One minute Ethan Gower was an average computer technician, playing online games with his friends. Now he’s been abducted and dropped into a strange world with others who have been taken from their homes. And magic and monsters are real. Now Ethan is a wizard and must convince his new companions to band together in order to survive in this strange new world as they level up, gain abilities, and try to unravel the mystery of why they were abducted and how to find a way home. But things are never easy.

The kingdom has warred with the Vard long enough. Having gone with the Servant of the Vard, Ashan hopes to end that violence. First, he must find himself—even if it means coming to understand the strange Vard magic. When he finds an ancient and dangerous threat unlike anything he's ever encountered that once spread throughout the Vard lands, he begins to understand his enemy. As Ashan discovers the threat might still be active, he learns the truth behind the Vard actions and their hatred of dragons. What can he do if the threat has already spread to his people?

Listeners first met Anna Marshall in The Soprano Sorceress, when she wished to be anything other than a music teacher and singer in Iowa - this was before she was pulled into the world of Erde, where her gift of song became a gift of magic. Her musical ability has since given Anna influence, control, and the potential to be an enormously powerful sorceress. Now, as the regent of Defalk, Anna must battle two men who would destroy her and claim Defalk for their own.

In the grand tradition of George R.R. Martin and Robert Jordan, Sunday Times best-selling author Peter V. Brett continues his critically acclaimed Demon Cycle with the next dramatic instalment: The Skull Throne. The Skull Throne of Krasia stands empty. Built from the skulls of fallen generals and demon princes, it is a seat of honour and ancient, powerful magic, keeping the demon corelings at bay. From atop the throne, Ahmann Jardir was meant to conquer the known world, forging its isolated peoples into a unified army to rise up and end the demon war once and for all.

To the church, she is a heretic, tried in absentia and sentenced to burn. To her brother, Carlo, she stands as a threat to his corrupt rule and a symbol of resistance. To her new "allies" in the East, she is a pawn to be played and sacrificed as they see fit. They don't hear the whispers that follow her in the streets: whispers of hope and the name of a long-dead saint. When Livia rises up to fight, she will not rise alone.

She lived where the railway tracks met the saltpan, on the Ahri side of the shadowline. In the old days, when people still talked about her, she was known as the end-of-the-line woman. Vasethe, a man with a troubled past, comes to seek a favor from a woman who is not what she seems, and must enter the 999 realms of Mkalis, the world of spirits, where gods and demons wage endless war.

Each night, the world is overrun by bloodthirsty demons. For centuries, humanity survived only by hiding behind defensive wards - magical symbols with the power to repel the demons. Now, the rediscovery of long-forgotten combat wards has given them the magic they need to fight back. In Tibbet’s Brook, the fighting wards have brought change, but the factions and grudges of a troubled past remain. Selia Square, the woman they call Barren, has long been the force that holds the Brook together. As a terrifying new threat emerges, she rallies her people once again.

Ashan has saved his homeland, but the threat from the king—along with Ashan's mentor—remains. The price for saving Berestal was high. His once recovered brother is now debilitated again, while his sister struggles to connect to Affelah, leaving Ashan to wonder what path he should take. When the king threatens the Wilds, Ashan must discover the truth of a land long ignored, as it might be the key to stopping the king and the spread of the dangerous power of the murtar.

"A sweeping drama unveiling a tale of love, hate and sacrifice against the panorama of an alien yet familiar society." ( Publishers Weekly)

After a near-disastrous confrontation with La Caçeria, Toba and Asmel are trapped on the human side of the gate, pursued by the Courser and a possessed Inquisitor. In the Mazik world, Naftaly’s visions seethe with calamitous images of Zayit, the prosperous gate city notorious for its trade in salt, consumed by flames and overrun by La Caçeria. If the Caçador can control the salt, he will be nearly unstoppable. But the stolen killstone, the key to the Caçador’s destruction, could eliminate the threat—if only Barsilay’s allies could find and use it.

In the heart of the authoritarian country of Wivvol, astronaut Xto Djbbit is about to embark on his first mission off-planet when the exiled High Hat of Chnta comes to him with an unusual request: Help smuggle a Septal artifact out of Wivvol. It’s an impossible favor to ask of Xto, but it’s also impossible to refuse; the High Hat of Chnta is also his uncle. Meanwhile, waiting for Xto in space? His estranged father - who has his own impossible favors - and a mysterious anomaly whose secrets Xto is uniquely positioned to unlock.

Ling Qi's mastery of the realm of Dreams grows, and her strides carry her further daily. Meeting the skeletal echo again in his jail of twisted space has only reinforced that. But her time is not infinite; there is only so much she can Master and learn before the great undertaking she has taken up must bear fruit. The Summit between her home and the foreigners of the Polar Nation looms, and with it, the chance to head off further conflict and prevent the embers of war that have already ignited in the south from growing further.

Secca, foster daughter of the Soprano Sorceress and now her successor as sorceress-protector of Defalk, must deal carefully with her willful master and wield her power to save his kingdom from the armies, fleets, and master sorcerers of the maitre of Sturinn.

After the ultimate betrayal, Emil must rise up as a leader to stop his brother before he becomes too powerful. Even if that means pushing away Ness and Wyatt as they compete for his heart so he can focus on the war. Brighton has a legion of followers at his command, but when he learns about an ancient scythe that can kill the unkillable, that’s all he will need to become unstoppable against Emil and other rising threats. Meanwhile, Maribelle aligns with her greatest enemy to resurrect her lost love, and Ness infiltrates political circles to stop Iron from ruling the country.

Besieged by spies and rival houses, stalked by a secret and merciless brotherhood of assassins, the brilliant Lady Mara of the Acoma faces the most deadly challenge she has ever known. The fearsome Black Robes see Mara as the ultimate threat to their ancient power. In search of allies who will join her against them, Mara must travel beyond civilization's borders and even into the hives of the alien cho-ja. As those near and dear to her fall victim to many enemies, Mara cries out for vengeance.

Ashan has returned to the Vard lands, becoming what his people claim him to be: a traitor. Now that he's connected to the power of Affellah, the king will stop at nothing to bring him back. That includes attacking Ashan's home and those he cares about. Once again, he must leave the Vard lands before he can fully understand the power of Affellah. Saving his people has already meant betrayal. Can he still find a way to be their Servant?

Secca, a young sorceress, is thrust into a position of power and responsibility when the legendary Sorceress-Protector of Defalk dies unexpectedly before Secca's training as a master magic wielder is anywhere near complete.

Kerovan of Ulmsdale has long borne the curse of his ancestors’ depredations. After pillaging a sanctum of the Old Ones, his bloodline has been forever marred by painful sickness and death. Kerovan was born strong and hardy, but he walks on hooves instead of human feet and sees through eyes of amber - just as the Old Ones had. Bound in marriage to the beautiful Joisan of Ithkrypt, Kerovan seeks to claim his rightful place as lord-heir of Ulmsdale. But first, the couple - separated by distance, yet linked in spirit - must unlock the powers held within a mystical necklace Joisan wears.