Epic Literature

Maulkin didn't know dying would mean a new eternity of dungeon delving, monster slaying, and glory hunting. If he had, he wouldn't have been so worried about kicking the bucket on a date gone even more wrong than usual. Reborn in the wild world of Amaranth, Maulkin finds himself in a hulking demi-human body with a sword of a size to match. Marked as an Eternal, a fledging immortal of boundless potential, Maulkin soon discovers he's been given a mission by the elder pantheon of this new realm.

"Has your life here been so difficult? You seem to fail upward at every opportunity." So says Careena, the hag teaching Clyde Hatchett how to use magic. It certainly doesn't feel like that to Clyde, who's still got a day job scraping mud (at least he hopes it's mud) out of monster pits. And yet, Clyde's found himself at the center of a massive conspiracy to kill the Emperor. He's the only one with proof that could save the man, and take down an entire network of corrupt nobles, evil slavers, and power-hungry despots.

16 years of peace and prosperity have passed since Lord Otori Takeo united the Three Countries. Takeo and his beloved consort, Kaede, have three daughters and a happy family life. Their success has attracted the attention of the distant Emperor and his general, the warlord Saga Hideki, who covet the wealth of the Countries. Meanwhile, the violent acts and betrayals of the past will not lie buried, and other secrets will not stay hidden. Everything that Takeo and Kaede have achieved is threatened.

The spirit of Prince John, the brother of Crown Princess Orlaith, has fallen captive to the power of the Yelolow Raja and his servant, the Pallid Mask. Prince John's motley band of friends and followers, led by Captain Pip of Townsville and Deor Godulfson, the bard and master of magic, must lead a quest through realms of shadow and dream to rescue Prince John from a threat far worse than death. Meanwhile, Reiko and Orlaith muster their kingdoms for war, making common cause with the reborn Kingdom of Hawaii.

In the lower wards of Kahnzoka, the port city of the Blessed Empire, 18-year-old ward boss Isoka enforces the will of her criminal masters with the power of Melos, the Well of Combat. The money she collects goes to keep her little sister living in comfort, far from the bloody streets they grew up on. When Isoka's magic is discovered by the government, she's arrested and brought to the Emperor's spymaster, who sends her on an impossible mission: Steal Soliton, a legendary ghost ship - a ship from which no one has ever returned. If she fails, her sister’s life is forfeit.

As multiple worlds and dimensions converged, humanity was met with the Unknown. A mysterious System forces it to play its part in a death game, and through the workings of a higher power teleports every human to a deadly Tutorial Zone. In order to save himself and others, Liam must reach his full potential as the last hope. This is the story of a man's desperate attempts to save humanity from certain extinction, as well as find out who's behind it all. He dreams of creating a fairer, more just reality and through the System, finds a ray of hope.

Given the rank of subcommander by his wife's brother, Lord Bhayar, the ruler of Telaryn, Quaeryt joins an invading army into the hostile land of Bovaria, in retaliation for Bovaria's attempted annexation of Telaryn. But Quaeryt has his own agenda in doing Bhayar's bidding: to legitimize Imagers in the hearts and minds of all men, by demonstrating their value as heroes as he leads his battalion into one costly battle after another.

In the 10th year of the Change, the survivors in western Oregon have learned how to live in a world without technology. They have held the Lord Protector, Norman Arminger - the warlord of Portland - at bay. The tensions between these factions have been building for some time, and the only reason they haven't confronted one another on the battlefield is because Arminger's daughter has fallen into Clan Mackenzie's hands. But Lady Sandra has a plan to retrieve her, one that may spark open warfare.

An expedition of groundlings from the Empire of Kish have traveled through the Three Worlds to the Indigo Cloud court of the Raksura, shape-shifting creatures of flight that live in large family groups. The groundlings have found a sealed ancient city at the edge of the shallow seas, near the deeps of the impassable Ocean. They believe it to be the last home of their ancestors and ask for help getting inside.

Prince of Dogs returns listeners to the war-torn kingdoms of Wendar and Varre and the intertwined destinies of Alain, raised in humble surroundings but now the count's heir; Liath, who struggles to unravel the secrets of her past while evading the traps set for her by those seeking the treasure she hides; Sanglant, believed dead by those who could save him but actually a prisoner in the city of Gent; and Fifth Son, who now builds an army to do his father's bidding - or his own!

Against all odds, Kerrigan Argon passed her dragon training. She's now an official member of the Society. Everything should be well. But somehow, nothing is. Her dark prince, Fordham Ollivier, has disappeared in hopes to beak his curse. An unwanted wedding looms in her future. And the council election draws ever nearer. An election that she's been unceremoniously nominated for. If all of that wasn't enough, the Red Masks, an anti-half Fae, anti-human terrorist organization, are gaining ground. All because they have a spy inside the mountain, inside the Society itself.

The world fell, the invaders won, and demons now ruled what had once been man's domain. The great works of a once powerful civilization lie in ruins, its people having forgotten the wonders of their forefathers as they now live in the yoke. Not everyone is willing to go quietly into the endless night, however. Human pests still infest occasional parts of the conquered world. In one nearly uninhabitable part of that world, a very young such pest has come of age and, without understanding what it means, she walks in the shadow of destiny.

An evil has risen in the land, one that, if not dealt with, threatens to start a war which would include the gods themselves. To counter it, the realm must call on its greatest heroes, its most courageous adventurers. Unfortunately, those great heroes, those brave adventurers, are all busy - being dead mostly. So it is left to Dannen Ateran, known in his youth as the Bloody Butcher, but more recently as the passed-out drunk at the table in the corner, to lead his companions against an army of the dead.

The Gods are dead. The Magelord Salazar and his magically enhanced troops, the Augmentors, crush any dissent they find in the minds of the populace. On the other side of the Broken Sea, the White Lady plots the liberation of Dorminia, with her spymistresses, the Pale Women. Demons and abominations plague the Highlands. The world is desperately in need of heroes. But what they get instead are a ragtag band of old warriors, a crippled Halfmage, two orphans and an oddly capable manservant: the Grim Company.

Dominic Thompson becomes an Infernal dungeon core and is given one task: honor the dark goddess by killing adventurers. Choosing an avatar is merely the first step. To become the greatest, he must make the other dungeon cores submit to him. And that means shattering their jeweled hearts. Or seducing their avatars. Lucky for Dom, the dungeon’s avatars are beautiful monster girls. But they’re also the fiercest warriors in the realms, and there’s a fine line between murder and seduction.

Ile-Rien is in peril. A mysterious army known only as the Gardier has surrounded the country, attacking in ominous black airships. Hope is not lost though, for a magical sphere created by Ile-Rien's greatest sorcerer may hold the key to defeating the faceless enemy. But the sphere is unpredictable and has already claimed several lives. When a magical spell goes disastrously awry, young Tremaine Valiarde and a brave band are transported to another world-a world of rough magics, evil mages, honorable warriors, and a secret Gardier base.

The city of the gods. Elantris once stood as the symbol of all that is beautiful. A sprawling metropolis of unrivaled grandeur, it was a symbol of power and strength, built to be as imposing as it was magnificent. The only thing more glorious than the city itself was its inhabitants, Godlike beings, with silvery skin and hair of the purest flowing white. Able to create powerful magics with a mere wave of their hands, the Elantrians were able to heal mortal wounds and create any object they desired. But Elantris fell...10 years ago.

Timothy Walter Bolton - better known as Timmy - has spent most of his life as a necromancer. When he isn't terrorising his enemies, he's plotting inside his castle, which is built on top of lightless chasms filled with nameless horrors and beings of a generally malevolent and megalomaniacal nature. But after one of his latest creations, a zombie hydra-dragon-bear, tries to eat him, he decides that maybe it's time to find a new, less dangerous, career.

Deadly competition. Deep desert. A dying tyrant. Finn Harris was declared the Mage Guild's champion. However, that was only the beginning of the Emir's competition. The next stage will send Finn and his companions deep into the desert north of Lahab in search of a long-lost relic. The magical artifact is said to be held within the Abyss. Except, this time, he's not just facing novice mages. Everyone in the region seems to be arrayed against him, god and man alike.

Eleven years before they were framed for the murder of a king, before even assuming the title of Riyria, Royce Melborn and Hadrian Blackwater were practically strangers. Unlikely associates, this cynical thief and idealist swordsman, were just learning how to work together as a team. In this standalone first installment of The Riyria Chronicles, Royce is determined to teach his naive partner a lesson about good deeds. Join Royce and Hadrian in this short story about one of their earliest adventures.