I first found fantasy literature about the same time as I got into tabletop gaming, for me this was AD&D. Edgar Rice Burroughs, J.R.R. Tolkien, Arthur C. Clarke, Fritz Lieber, and Roger Zelazny were just a few of the authors that showed me what was possible. Writing my first novel cemented my understanding that I wanted to create the kinds of worlds that readers would want to experience. The kinds of worlds that would let them get away from their lives, if only for a few hours, where they could live a life of adventure and discovery. Just like the novels I recommended here did for me.
This is one of the most enjoyable series I have ever read. It takes you into a world so different from traditional fantasy stereotypes. The characters are flawed and imperfect and because of that they are so easy to sympathize with when things go wrong (and they will...repeatedly). The style the author used for the headers in each chapter was so entertaining to me that I still find myself quoting them to people, 20+ years after first reading them.
Skeeve is a magician’s apprentice (and a wanna-be thief) until an assassin’s bolt kills his master, Garkin. Along with Aahz, the green-scaled, purple-tongued demon and master magician summoned by Garkin, he sets out on a quest to get even. The road to vengeance is bound to prove rocky, however, because Skeeve can barely light a candle with his beginning magic, and Aahz has lost his own considerable magical abilities as a consequence of Garkin’s summoning spell. Before they can confront the power-mad wizard who ordered Garkin’s assassination, they must survive a trip to a weird alternate dimension, encounters with Impish…
This novel introduced me to a villainous character that was supposed to be the hero. The first-person perspective was perfect to allow me to see why he was the way he was and to understand what made him the hero. The author then filled in the rest of the world, slowly, allowing the connections to new characters to build at a natural pace. Before I knew it, I had a picture in my mind of the world the character lived within, and it was filled with variety and depth that kept drawing me back for more.
The first three fantastical adventures of assassin Vlad Taltos—now in one volume.
A welcome addition to any fantasy fan's library, The Book of Jhereg follows the antics of the wise-cracking Vlad Taltos and his dragon-like companion through their first three adventures—Jhereg, Yendi, and Teckla.
There are many ways for a young man with quick wits and a quick sword to advance in the world. Vlad Taltos chose the route of assassin. From his rookie days to his selfless feats of heroism, the dauntless Vlad will hold readers spellbound—and The Book of Jhereg will take its place among the classic compilations…
These anonymous tales, composed over a thousand years ago in Ireland’s monasteries, tell us what happens when human and supernatural lovers cross the boundaries between our world and the Otherworld (síd). Set in a lost time of heroes, demi-gods, warrior queens, and druids of the Irish Otherworld (…
I think that like most fans of fantasy, dragons remain one of the quintessential elements of that genre and the idea of a version of Earth where they were naturally integrated into society was too good of an idea to resist. The world that Naomi creates, and how just having dragons there has changed it from the world that is written in our history books, was fascinating. I loved seeing the path that she laid out from cultures that we are familiar with in the current day, to ones that had long since disappeared.
Naomi Novik's stunning series of novels follow the adventures of Captain William Laurence and his fighting dragon Temeraire as they are thrown together to fight for Britain during the turbulent time of the Napoleonic Wars.
As Napoleon's tenacious infantry rampages across Europe and his armada lies in wait for Nelson's smaller fleet, the war does not rage on land and water alone. Squadrons of aviators swarm the skies - a deadly shield for the cumbersome canon-firing vessels. Raining fire and acid upon their enemies, they engage in a swift, violent combat with flying tooth and claw... for these aviators ride…
I think that all of us have dreams of being a secret hero. The hero of this novel is not one by accident, but by effort and ability. The story follows his effort to do the right thing, using his self-deprecating humour to give us glimpses of the real person. The flawed supporter that he has is both so very powerful and yet so vulnerable, something that all of us can understand. The main characters determination to do the right thing even at the risk of great personal loss, is the kind of thing that most of us hope we could do too.
Rod Gallowglass is a man of science who does not believe in magic. ** Gramarye is a world of witches and warlocks. Of strange abilities and phenomena. A world where society mirrors Earth's own Middle Ages, and a world headed for doom. **
Rod Gallowglass must become a part of the local fabric to save the world from both itself and external forces that threaten its existence. But to do so, he must put aside his own convictions and beliefs, and become a warlock, in spite of himself. **
A grand adventure mixing science fi ction with elements of fantasy,…
Wishes are dangerous. They can bring you a night out, a gown, even a pair of slippers. Or something you never should have wished for in the first place.
After the royal wedding, the girl in the glass slippers has everything she ever wanted: an escape from a life of…
This is a novel of historical fiction set in the time of the French revolution. The series is named after the main character, Alan Lewrie. This novel introduces you to this rapscallion of a character, someone who is a spoiled, and indolent 16-year-old young man. Against his will he will find his place in the world and it will be in the very last place he would have imagined, commanding a ship of the Royal Navy. The novels follow his travels and adventures as he rises through the ranks, and it was incredibly fun to watch the young man evolve and grow into the man he becomes.
His exploits echo with the bustle of crowded ports and the crash of naval warfare...
It is 1780 and seventeen-year-old Alan Lewrie is a brash young libertine with a head full of dreams. When he is found in bed with the wrong woman, he is forced to leave his profligacy behind for a new life at sea.
Though sickness and hard labour await him aboard the tall-masted Ariadne, Lewrie finds himself gradually adapting to the world of a midshipman.
But as he heads for the war-torn Americas into a hail of cannonballs, will he ever catch wind of the plot…
My novel is a contemporary science fiction that revolves around a murder mystery and first contact. The story all takes place in an alien culture, and the main characters are a security technician tasked with finding the murderer and a researcher with the responsibility of analyzing the newest discovered race, humanity.
Royce Melborn, a skilled thief, and his mercenary partner, Hadrian Blackwater, make a profitable living carrying out dangerous assignments for conspiring nobles—until they are hired to pilfer a famed sword. What appears to be just a simple job finds them framed for the murder of the king and trapped in…
"She plunged her blade into his chest, feeling it grind along his ribs..."
Outcast swordfighter, Kyer Halidan, was abandoned in a cornfield at age three. Now, twenty years on, she’s searching for answers: Who left her there? And why?
Kyer doesn’t suffer fools, and when she kills a man in…
