Best Sword & Sorcery Books to Start With

'A storytelling assurance rare for a debut . . . Fans of Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson will find much to admire' Guardian AS DESTINY CALLS, A JOURNEY BEGINS It has been twenty years since the god-like Augurs were overthrown and killed. Now, those who once served them - the Gifted - are spared only because they have accepted the rebellion's Four Tenets, vastly limiting their own powers. As a young Gifted, Davian suffers the consequences of a war lost before he was even born. He and others like him are despised. But when Davian discovers he wields the forbidden powers of the Augurs, he sets in motion a chain of events that will change everything. To the west, a young man whose fate is intertwined with Davian's wakes up in the forest, covered in blood and with no memory of who he is . . . And in the far north, an ancient enemy long thought defeated, begins to stir. The Licanius trilogy: The Shadow of What Was Lost An Echo of Things to Come The Light of All That Falls 'Wonderful worldbuilding and terrific characters' Boingboing.net 'Will appeal to anybody looking for a coming-of-age fantasy tale with likeable characters and strong worldbuilding' Fantasy Faction 'Love the Wheel of Time? This is about to become your new favourite series' Barnes & Noble SF and Fantasy Blog

In the city of Tevanne, merchants use scrived objects—artifacts imbued with magical sigils—to dominate trade and maintain power. Sancia Grado is a thief with a unique ability to communicate with scrived objects. When she steals something that could shatter the foundations of the entire world, she finds herself in the middle of a conspiracy far bigger than any heist.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson, the Mistborn series is a heist story of political intrigue and magical, martial-arts action. Three hundred years after the events of the Mistborn trilogy, Kelsier and Vin have passed into the realm of history and myth, and the world of Scadrial is on the verge of modernity. In the frontier lands known as the Roughs, the old magics are a crucial tool for those who establish order and justice. One such is Waxillium Ladrian, a rare Twinborn, who can Push on metals with his Allomancy and use Feruchemy to become lighter or heavier at will. After twenty years in the Roughs, tragedy has driven Wax back to the metropolis of Elendel. Now he must reluctantly put away his guns and assume the duties of the head of a noble house. But when a gang of Allomancers turn to train robbery and kidnapping, Wax will soon learn that the mansions and elegant tree-lined streets of the city can be more dangerous than the dusty plains of the Roughs.

El Higgins is at a school full of monsters—and she's not talking about the students. The Scholomance has no teachers, no library, and no dining hall. It just has students, trying to learn enough magic to survive before monsters kill them. El has been assigned to the most dangerous room, and the only student willing to help her is the one she hates most.

The emperor rules with a magic built of stolen children's memories. His palace is filled with constructs—part animal, part human—powered by bone shards from living subjects who weaken and die as the magic drains them. His daughter Lin must find the secrets of the bone shard magic before a rebellion tears their empire apart.

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.

Marie Brennan begins a thrilling new fantasy series in A Natural History of Dragons, combining adventure with the inquisitive spirit of the Victorian Age. You, dear reader, continue at your own risk. It is not for the faint of heart—no more so than the study of dragons itself. But such study offers rewards beyond compare: to stand in a dragon's presence, even for the briefest of moments—even at the risk of one's life—is a delight that, once experienced, can never be forgotten. . . . All the world, from Scirland to the farthest reaches of Eriga, know Isabella, Lady Trent, to be the world's preeminent dragon naturalist. She is the remarkable woman who brought the study of dragons out of the misty shadows of myth and misunderstanding into the clear light of modern science. But before she became the illustrious figure we know today, there was a bookish young woman whose passion for learning, natural history, and, yes, dragons defied the stifling conventions of her day. Here at last, in her own words, is the true story of a pioneering spirit who risked her reputation, her prospects, and her fragile flesh and bone to satisfy her scientific curiosity; of how she sought true love and happiness despite her lamentable eccentricities; and of her thrilling expedition to the perilous mountains of Vystrana, where she made the first of many historic discoveries that would change the world forever. "Saturated with the joy and urgency of discovery and scientific curiosity." —Publishers Weekly (starred review) on A Natural History of Dragons An NPR Best Book of 2013 The Lady Trent Memoirs 1. A Natural History of Dragons 2. The Tropic of Serpents 3. Voyage of the Basilisk 4. In the Labyrinth of Drakes 5. Within the Sanctuary of Wings At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Zélie Adeyemi remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Then, in one dark night, everything changed—maji were killed and magic disappeared. Now Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy that took everything from her.

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.

The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around—and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always felt he was meant for another world. When a mythic city appears out of nowhere and a band of legendary warriors arrives to recruit people for a rescue mission, Lazlo must decide how far to follow his dreams.

'Impossible to put down' STEPHEN KING __________________ THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER THE GOODREADS CHOICE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST FANTASY OF 2019 AN AMAZON BEST BOOK OF OCTOBER 2019 A 2020 LOCUS AWARD FINALIST IN DEVELOPMENT FOR TELEVISION WITH AMAZON STUDIOS BY THE BESTSELLING CREATOR OF THE GRISHAVERSE AND THE NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES SHADOW AND BONE STEP INTO THE WORLD OF NINTH HOUSE __________________ Galaxy 'Alex' Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale's freshman class. A dropout and the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved crime, Alex was hoping for a fresh start. But a free ride to one of the world's most prestigious universities was bound to come with a catch. Alex has been tasked with monitoring the mysterious activities of Yale's secret societies - well-known haunts of the rich and powerful. Now there's a dead girl on campus and Alex seems to be the only person who won't accept the neat answer the police and campus administration have come up with for her murder. Because Alex knows the secret societies are far more sinister and extraordinary than anyone ever imagined. They tamper with forbidden magic. They raise the dead. And sometimes they prey on the living . . . 'One of the best fantasy novels I've read in years' LEV GROSSMAN 'Ninth House rocked my world' JOE HILL 'I wouldn't blame you for taking the day off to finish it' KELLY LINK 'Mesmerising' CHARLAINE HARRIS 'Compulsively readable' KIRKUS 'Atmospheric' BOOKLIST 'The fantasy novel of the year' THE I

'Robert Jackson Bennett deserves a huge audience' - Brent Weeks, New York Times bestselling author of The Black Prism In the city of stairs, nothing is as it seems. You've got to be careful when you're chasing a murderer through Bulikov, for the world is not as it should be in that city. When the gods were destroyed and all worship of them banned by the Polis, reality folded; now stairs lead to nowhere, alleyways have become portals to the past, and criminals disappear into thin air. The murder of Dr Efrem Pangyui, the Polis diplomat researching the Continent's past, has begun something and now whispers of an uprising flutter out from invisible corners. Only one woman may be willing to pursue the truth - but it is likely to cost her everything. 'Truly refreshing' - New York Times Book Review

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.

This boxed set includes bestselling author Michael J. Sullivan's complete Riyria Revelations, an epic tale of treachery and adventure, sword fighting and magic, myth and legend. "Good old-fashioned escapist fun." -Publishers Weekly Royce Melborn, a skilled thief, and his mercenary partner, Hadrian Blackwater, make a profitable living carrying out dangerous assignments for conspiring nobles - until they become the unwitting scapegoats in a plot to murder the king. Sentenced to death, their only hope is to unravel an ancient mystery before it's too late. The Riyria RevelationsTheft of SwordsRise of EmpireHeir of Novron For more from Michael J. Sullivan, check out: The Riyria ChroniclesThe Crown TowerThe Rose and the Thorn

One of fantasy’s finest next-generation storytellers continues to break new ground. Michael J. Sullivan’s trailblazing career began with the breakout success of his Riyria series: full-bodied, spellbinding fantasy adventures whose imaginative scope and sympathetic characters won a devoted readership and comparisons to fantasy masters Brandon Sanderson, Scott Lynch, and J.R.R. Tolkien himself. Now Age of Myth inaugurates an original five-book series. Since time immemorial, humans have worshipped the gods they call Fhrey, truly a race apart: invincible in battle, masters of magic, and seemingly immortal. But when a god falls to a human blade, the balance of power between humans and those they thought were gods changes forever. Now only a few stand between humankind and annihilation: Raithe, reluctant to embrace his destiny as the God Killer; Suri, a young seer burdened by signs of impending doom; and Persephone, who must overcome personal tragedy to lead her people. The Age of Myth is over. The time of rebellion has begun. Magic, fantasy, and mythology collide in Michael J. Sullivan’s Legends of the First Empire series: AGE OF MYTH • AGE OF SWORDS • AGE OF WAR

The youngest, half-goblin son of the Emperor has lived his entire life in exile, shamed for his parentage. When the emperor and his other sons are killed in an airship crash, Maia is suddenly the Emperor of the Elflands—and must navigate a court he knows nothing about, with no allies and a dozen enemies waiting for him to fail.