Sword & Sorcery All-Time Greats

An orphan's life is harsh and that's if he's lucky. Lucky Locke Lamora dodged the fates of most street kids: conscription, death, or slavery. Instead, he became a member of a thieving crew—the Gentlemen Bastards—who con the nobility of Camorr while the city's crime lord believes he's just running small-time scams.

Logen Ninefingers, a scarred barbarian. Jezal dan Luthar, a vain young officer angling for glory. Inquisitor Glokta, a crippled torturer who once endured the same. Three very different people are drawn together by the First of the Magi as a dark power stirs in the North.

Mia Corvere is barely sixteen years old when she is given a chance to train at a secret school for killers. She has spent years preparing for this, fueled by a thirst for revenge against the men who destroyed her family. But the Red Church is no place for the faint of heart—and the competition is deadly.

Clay Cooper and his band were once the greatest mercenary company in the world. Now middle-aged and out of shape, they must get the band back together for one last tour — not to play music, but to fight through a monster-filled wilderness to rescue their old leader's daughter from a city under siege.

Some feel the Lady, newly risen from centuries in thrall, stands between humankind and evil. Some feel she is evil itself. The hardbitten men of the Black Company take their pay and do what they must, burying their doubts with their dead. Until the prophesy: The White Rose has been reborn, somewhere, to embody good once more. There must be a way for the Black Company to find her...

Elric of Melniboné is the classic fantasy antihero who transformed the genre, an evil emperor with a conscience who struggles with his sentient sword Stormbringer This book contains the author's definitive editions of the Elric saga, the last emperor of Melniboné. Michael Moorcock and his long-time friend and bibliographer John Davey have collaborated to produce the most consistent and coherent narrative from the disparate novels, novellas, short stories and non-fiction about Elric. From his early life in Melniboné all the way through to his final days, these seven volumes will be the definitive telling of the albino prince's story. Elric is one of the great creations of modern fantasy, and has inspired legions of imitators. If you know his story already, then this definitive edition will finally let you read the entire saga in the author's preferred order. If you've never experienced the chronicles of the albino with the soul-sucking sword, then this is the perfect place to start. Readers have loved Elric for decades: 'I'm an absolute sucker for the grand sweeping personal quests to gain more and yet more magical power in the service of rescuing your one true love, casting aside morals, the greater good, your own health, and possibly your own sanity. This tale holds up perfectly' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'Has everything you'd want in high fantasy adventure, a conflicted hero as well as fantastic worlds filled with strange monsters and ancient magics' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ '[Elric] holds a special place in the annals of fantasy characters . . . really not to be missed by fantasy fans' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'Elric has to be just about the coolest most bad ass mofo in the history of fantasy fiction . . . it is amazing how much plot, characterization and action Moorcock managed to squeeze in' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Before the thorns taught me their sharp lessons and bled weakness from me I had but one brother, and I loved him well. Prince Jorg of Ancrath leads a band of bloodthirsty outlaws through a fractured empire in pursuit of vengeance—and a throne.

They say Black Dow's killed more men than winter, and clawed his way to the throne of the North up a hill of skulls. The King of the Union, ever a jealous neighbour, is not about to stand smiling by while he claws his way any higher. The orders have been given and the armies are toiling through the northern mud. Thousands of men are converging on a forgotten ring of stones, on a worthless hill, in an unimportant valley, and they've brought a lot of sharpened metal with them. Bremer dan Gorst, disgraced master swordsman, has sworn to reclaim his stolen honour on the battlefield. Obsessed with redemption and addicted to violence, he's far past caring how much blood gets spilled in the attempt. Even if it's his own. Prince Calder isn't interested in honour, and still less in getting himself killed. All he wants is power, and he'll tell any lie, use any trick, and betray any friend to get it. Just as long as he doesn't have to fight for it himself. Curnden Craw, the last honest man in the North, has gained nothing from a life of warfare but swollen knees and frayed nerves. He hardly even cares who wins any more, he just wants to do the right thing. But can he even tell what that is with the world burning down around him? Over three bloody days of battle, the fate of the North will be decided. But with both sides riddled by intrigues, follies, feuds and petty jealousies, it is unlikely to be the noblest hearts, or even the strongest arms that prevail. Three men. One battle. No Heroes.

Azoth is a street urchin surviving in the slums of the city of Cenaria. He dreams of apprenticing to Durzo Blint, the city's most legendary assassin. To gain that apprenticeship, he must complete an impossible task—and in doing so, begin a journey that will cost him everything he cares about.

'The Age of Kings is dead. And I have killed it.' Field Marshal Tamas's coup against his king sends corrupt aristocrats to the guillotine and brings bread to the starving. But it also provokes war in the Nine Nations, internal attacks by royalist fanatics and greedy scrambling for money and power by Tamas's supposed allies: the Church, workers' unions and mercenary forces. Stretched to his limit, Tamas relies heavily on his few remaining powder mages, including the embittered Taniel, a brilliant marksman who also happens to be Tamas's estranged son, and Adamat, a retired police inspector whose loyalty will be tested to its limit. Now, amid the chaos, a whispered rumour is spreading. A rumour about omens of death and destruction. Just old peasant legends about the gods returning to walk the earth. No modern educated man believes that sort of thing ...But perhaps they should.

Monza Murcatto, the Snake of Talins, is the most feared mercenary general in the Styrian wars. When she is betrayed by the Grand Duke she serves and left for dead, she begins a ruthless campaign of revenge—one where the line between justice and monstrosity is dangerously thin.

WAR. POLITICS. REVOLUTION. THE AGE OF MADNESS HAS ARRIVED . . . 'Funny and sardonic, violent and compelling' Guardian 'A tale of brute force and subtle magic on the cusp of an industrial revolution ... Buckle your seat belts for this one' Robin Hobb * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * On the battlefields of the North, the next generation of would-be heroes rushes to make the same bloody mistakes as the last. While the age of the machine dawns, the age of magic refuses to die. One might glimpse the future, through the curse of the Long Eye, but changing it is another matter altogether. The chimneys of industry rise, the cities seethe with opportunity, and even kings must kneel before the new power of the banks. But in the slums, anger is brewing, and soon it will boil over with a rage that all the money in the world cannot control . . . Introducing a cast of unforgettable new characters, A LITTLE HATRED begins a new First Law trilogy which will have you gripped from the very start ... * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 'Crammed with characters and detail, the intricately woven story never slackens its merciless grip' Daily Mail 'A masterpiece of fantasy fiction' Starburst 'Could scratch an itch for anyone missing Game of Thrones' Den of Geek 'One of Abercrombie's best books yet' SFX 'Will keep you up long after bedtime' The Sun

Geralt of Rivia is a witcher. A cunning sorcerer, a ruthless assassin and a cold-blooded killer—yet caring and emotional at the same time. Contracted by village elders and nobles alike to hunt down the monsters that terrorise their lands, Geralt must use his mutant skills to survive in a world where being a monster is not always as straightforward as it seems.

International bestselling author Mark Lawrence continues the bold new world of dark fantasy he created in the Broken Empire trilogy with the first book of the Red Queen's War... For all her reign the Red Queen has fought the long war, contested in secret, against the powers that stand behind nations, for higher stakes than land or gold. Her greatest weapon is The Silent Sister—unseen by most and unspoken of by all. The Red Queen’s grandson, Prince Jalan Kendeth—drinker, gambler, seducer of women—is one who can see The Silent Sister. Content with his role as a minor royal, Jal pretends that the hideous crone is not there. But war with the undead is coming, and the Red Queen has called on her family to defend the realm. Jal thinks that nothing that will affect him. He's wrong... After escaping a death trap set by the Silent Sister, Jal finds his fate magically intertwined with a fierce Norse warrior. As the two undertake a journey to undo the spell, encountering grave dangers, willing women, and an upstart prince named Jorg Ancrath along the way, Jalan gradually catches a glimmer of the truth: he and the Norseman are but pieces in a game—and the Red Queen controls the board.

Prince Yarvi, second-born and half-handed, has no interest in ruling. But when his father and brother are murdered, he is thrust onto the throne—then betrayed into slavery. His path to freedom and revenge will teach him that to win you must be willing to use every tool at your disposal.

At the Convent of Sweet Mercy, young girls are raised to be killers. In some few children the old bloods show, gifting rare talents that can be honed to deadly or mystic effect. But even the mistresses of sword and shadow don't truly understand what they have purchased when Nona Grey is brought to their halls. A bloodstained child of nine falsely accused of murder, guilty of worse, Nona is stolen from the shadow of the noose. It takes ten years to educate a Red Sister in the ways of blade and fist, but under Abbess Glass's care there is much more to learn than the arts of death. Among her class Nona finds a new family--and new enemies. Despite the security and isolation of the convent, Nona's secret and violent past finds her out, drawing with it the tangled politics of a crumbling empire. Her arrival sparks old feuds to life, igniting vicious struggles within the church and even drawing the eye of the emperor himself. Beneath a dying sun, Nona Grey must master her inner demons, then loose them on those who stand in her way.

"The Banished Lands has a violent past where armies of men and giants clashed in battle, but now giants are seen, the stones weep blood and giant wyrms are stirring. Those who can still read the signs see a threat far greater than the ancient wars. For if the Black Sun gains ascendancy, mankind's hopes and dreams will fall to dust ... and it can never be made whole again. Malice is a dark epic fantasy tale of blind greed, ambition, and betrayal."--

Criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his dreams — or dead. He assembles a crew of six dangerous outcasts to break into the most heavily guarded prison in the world. But with betrayal lurking at every corner, getting out alive is the real challenge.

'The Ember Blade is hands down the best fantasy novel I've ever read' Grimdark Magazine Empires rise, civilisations fall and one culture comes to subsume another. It's the way of the world . . . sometimes ways of life are improved, sometimes they are not. But the progression of change is huge and - usually - unstoppable. In this story, the Ossian way of life is fading and the Dachen way is taking its place and Aren is comfortable with that. Even when his parents are accused of treason he supports the establishment and maintains there's been some mistake . . . which is all it takes to get himself and his best friend arrested . . . Thrown into a prison mine they plan their escape - only to be overtaken by events when they're rescued, and promptly find themselves in the middle of an ambush. By the time they've escaped, they're unavoidably linked to Garric - their unwelcome saviour - and his quest to overturn to Dachen way of life. If they leave Garric now, they'll be arrested or killed by their pursuers. If they turn him in, Garric will kill them. If they stay with him, they'll be abetting a murderous quest they don't believe in. There are no good options - but Aren will still have to choose a path . . . Designed to return to classic fantasy adventures and values, from a modern perspective, this is a fast-moving coming-of-age trilogy featuring a strong cast of diverse characters, brilliant set-pieces and a strong character and plot driven story. Readers can't put down The Ember Blade: 'I am absolutely in love with this book! . . . I was on the edge of my seat a few times. I laughed and I cried . . . I loved the characters, loved the story' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'One of the best in the genre for a very long time . . . a masterful balancing of new and old . . . a rather grand first instalment in a trilogy that could be one of the best epic fantasy has ever seen' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'The island of goodness and hope for humanity in the sea of grimdark' Ed