Historical Fantasy All-Time Greats

France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever—and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets. Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a 300-year story of a deal struck with a god of darkness.

In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child—neither powerful like her father nor viciously alluring like her mother. When she discovers she possesses the power of witchcraft, she is exiled to a deserted island.

Agnieszka loves her valley home. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and her people rely on the cold wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its influence at bay. Every ten years he takes a girl from the valley as his apprentice—and this year, he chooses Agnieszka.

Miryem is the daughter of moneylenders, but her father's inability to collect debts has left the family starving. When she takes matters into her own hands and gains a reputation for turning silver into gold, a magical debt-collector shows up—and she is forced to make good on her boast or be taken into his frozen domain forever.

Piranesi lives in the House. Perhaps he always has. In his notebooks, he makes careful observations: the House is beautiful, its rooms full of marvels. He is not afraid—though sometimes he wonders if he should be.

Greece in the age of heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the court of King Peleus and his perfect son Achilles. Despite their differences, Achilles befriends the shamed prince, and as they grow into young men their bond blossoms into something deeper—despite the displeasure of Achilles' mother Thetis, a cruel sea goddess, and a war on the horizon.

In the Ambhan Empire, Mehr is the illegitimate daughter of an imperial governor and a woman of the nomadic Amrithi people. When the Empire discovers her heritage, she is forced to marry a mystic of the Emperor's order—and discovers that the power she carries in her blood could either bind or free her.

In a famine-stricken village in 14th-century China, a girl disguises herself as her dead brother to claim his fate—greatness—and survive. Masquerading as a monk, she must rise through the ranks of a rebellion against the Mongol-ruled Yuan dynasty to become the person destiny intended her brother to be.

'You don't read this book so much as surrender to it. A dark and heady swoon' THE GUARDIAN 'As rich is suspense as it is in lush '50s atmosphere' ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY He is trying to poison me. You must come for me, Noemí. You have to save me. After receiving a frantic letter from her newlywed cousin begging for someone to save her from a mysterious doom, socialite Noemí Taboada heads to High Place, a distant house in the Mexican countryside. She's not sure what she will find - her cousin's husband, a handsome Englishman, is a stranger, and Noemí knows little about the region. Noemí is more suited for cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing. But she's also tough and smart, with an indomitable will, and she is not afraid: not of her cousin's new alluring, menacing husband; not of his father; and not even of the house itself, which begins to invade Noemi's dreams with dark visions. For there are many secrets behind the walls of High Place. The family's once colossal wealth and faded mining empire keeps them safe from prying eyes, but as Noemí digs deeper, she unearths stories of violence and madness. And Noemí, mesmerized by the terrifying yet seductive world of High Place, may find it impossible to escape. 'Darkly brilliant and captivating' YANGSZE CHOO, bestselling author of The Fox Wife 'Moreno-Garcia gets it absolutely right' THE TELEGRAPH

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Library Journal | Vulture | The Verge | SYFYWire Step into The City of Brass, the spellbinding debut from S. A. Chakraborty perfect for fans of The Golem and the Jinni, The Grace of Kings, and Uprooted, in which the future of a magical Middle Eastern kingdom rests in the hands of a clever and defiant young con artist with miraculous healing gifts. On the streets of eighteenth-century Cairo, Nahri is a con woman of unsurpassed skill. She makes her living swindling Ottoman nobles, hoping to one day earn enough to change her fortunes. But when Nahri accidentally summons Dara, an equally sly, darkly mysterious djinn warrior, during one of her cons, she learns that even the cleverest of schemes can have deadly consequences. Forced to flee Cairo, Dara and Nahri journey together across hot, windswept sands teeming with creatures of fire and rivers where the mythical marid sleep, past ruins of once-magnificent human metropolises and mountains where the circling birds of prey are more than what they seem, to Daevabad, the legendary city of brass. It’s a city steeped in magic and fire, where blood can be as dangerous as any spell; a city where old resentments run deep and the royal court rules with a tenuous grip; a city to which Nahri is irrevocably bound—and where her very presence threatens to ignite a war that has been simmering for centuries. *Finalist for the World Fantasy Award: Best Novel *Nominated for the Locus Award: Best First Novel *Finalist for the British Fantasy Award: Best Newcomer Featuring a stepback and extra content including a bonus scene and an excerpt from The Kingdom of Copper.

In the early nineteenth century, two magicians emerge to change England's history. The reclusive Mr Norrell has been preparing for years to restore English magic. The young Jonathan Strange has a wilder, more unpredictable talent. Together they help England fight Napoleon—but soon they are at war with each other.

At the edge of the Russian wilderness, winter lasts most of the year. Vasilisa loves the long winters and the bright cold of the forest, where she is at home among the spirits of the wood. When a priest arrives preaching that the old ways are evil, her family must choose between new faith and old magic—with deadly consequences.

'Excellent . . . one of the most interesting and original fantasy worlds I've seen in years' ADRIAN TCHAIKOVSKY 'Brilliant' ROBIN HOBB, author of The Assassin's Apprentice ***Winner of the Robert Holdstock Award for Best Fantasy Novel*** TWO NATIONS AT WAR. A PRIZE BEYOND COMPARE. For generations, the Hundred Isles have built their ships from the bones of ancient dragons to fight an endless war. The dragons disappeared, but the battles for supremacy persisted. Now the first dragon in centuries has been spotted in far-off waters, and both sides see a chance to shift the balance of power in their favour. Because whoever catches it will win not only glory, but the war. A brilliantly imagined saga of honour, glory, and warfare, The Bone Ships starts an epic new trilogy from David Gemmell Award-nominated RJ Barker. 'A vividly realised high-seas epic that pulls you deep into its world and keeps you tangled there until the very last word' EVAN WINTER, author of The Rage of Dragons 'An epic tale of duty and obligation and honour, and what bravery really means . . . I can't recommend it enough' PETER MCLEAN, author of Priest of Bones 'A viciously exciting adventure. I loved every second of it' TASHA SURI, author of Empire of Sand 'Swashbuckling awesomeness . . . a fascinating world and a twisty plot, both rooted in characters I came to care about. A definite winner' JOHN GWYNNE, author of MALICE 'The Bone Ships has already built up plenty of anticipation - and with good reason ... Barker's previous series, the acclaimed The Wounded Kingdom Trilogy, was a powerhouse of gritty fantasy, and The Bone Ships promises to launch one of this season's greatest, grandest dragon sagas' NPR

'The greatest living author of epic fantasy' - Brandon Sanderson 'The finest in his field' - Tor.com 'Guy Gavriel Kay's A Brightness Long Ago is a masterpiece; perhaps the finest work of one of the world's greatest living storytellers' - Fantasy Book Review ***One of Goodreads' Most Anticipated SFF Books of 2019*** Internationally bestselling author Guy Gavriel Kay's latest work is set in a world evoking early Renaissance Italy, with an extraordinary cast of characters. In a chamber overlooking the nighttime waterways of a maritime city, a man looks back on his youth and the people who shaped his life. Danio Cerra's intelligence won him entry to a renowned school, though he was only the son of a tailor. He took service at the court of a ruling count - and soon learned why that man was known as The Beast. Danio's fate changed the moment he recognized Adria Ripoli as she entered the count's chambers one night - intending to kill. Born to power, Adria had chosen a life of danger - and freedom - instead. Other vivid figures share the story: a healer determined to defy her expected lot; a charming, frivolous son of immense wealth; a religious leader more decadent than devout; and, affecting these lives and many more, two mercenary commanders, whose rivalry puts a world in the balance. Further praise for Guy Gavriel Kay 'Contemporary fiction's finest fantasist' Tor.com 'History and fantasy rarely come together as gracefully or readably as they do in the novels of Guy Gavriel Kay' Washington Post 'One of the (if not the) premiere fantasists of our time' The Financial Times 'Compulsively readable . . . Kay is a global phenomenon . . . a storyteller on the grandest scale' Time Magazine (Canada)