Recommendations based on "Halt's Peril Book Nine"

Master storyteller and internationally bestselling author Christopher Paolini returns to the World of Eragon in this stunning epic fantasy set a year after the events of the Inheritance Cycle.The world is no longer safe for the Dragon Rider Murtagh and his dragon, Thorn. An evil king has been toppled, and they are left to face the consequences of the reluctant role they played in his reign of terror.Now they are hated and alone, exiled to the outskirts of society. Throughout the land, hushed voices whisper of brittle ground and a faint scent of brimstone in the air - and Murtagh senses that something wicked lurks in the shadows of Alagaësia. So begins an epic journey into lands both familiar and untravelled, where Murtagh and Thorn must use every weapon in their arsenal, from brains to brawn, to find and outwit a mysterious witch. A witch who is much more than she seems.In this gripping novel starring one of the most popular characters from Christopher Paolini's blockbuster Inheritance Cycle, a Dragon Rider must discover what he stands for in a world that has abandoned him. Murtagh is the perfect book to enter the World of Eragon for the first time . . . or to joyfully return.

A deal struck in a dark place set an outlaw mage on the path to revenge. And now that it’s led to places even darker, she and everyone she knows may pay the price for her bargain in the final novel of “an unforgettable epic fantasy” trilogy (Publisher’s Weekly).Sal the Cacophony has made few friends, but many enemies. Many, many enemies. When her magic was taken from her, she cried out for revenge. And a power she never understood promised her vengeance. A deal for a bloody price was made.And now the bill has come due.In one of the last free cities of the burned-out ruin of the Scar, Sal’s many foes—old and new—have hunted down her and her few allies—willing and otherwise -- and all her plans to save them might not be enough.One last stand. One more story. One final blade to be drawn.For more from Sam Sykes, check out:The Grave of Empires:Seven Blades in BlackTen Arrows of IronThree Axes to FallBring Down Heaven:The City Stained RedThe Mortal TallyGod's Last BreathThe Affinity for Steel Trilogy:Tome of the UndergatesBlack HaloThe Skybound Sea

A young man with forbidden magic finds himself drawn into an ancient war against a dangerous enemy in book one of the Licanius Trilogy, the series that fans are heralding as the next Wheel of Time.As destiny calls, a journey begins.It has been twenty years since the godlike 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 powers.As a 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 power of the Augurs, he and his friends Wirr and Asha set into 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 is a series readers will have a hard time putting down -- a relentless coming-of-age epic from the very first page."Storytelling assurance rare for a debut . . . Fans of Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson will find much to admire."" -- Guardian

A retired group of legendary mercenaries get the band back together for one last impossible mission in this award-winning debut epic fantasy."Fantastic, funny, ferocious." -- Sam SykesClay Cooper and his band were once the best of the best, the most feared and renowned crew of mercenaries this side of the Heartwyld.Their glory days long past, the mercs have grown apart and grown old, fat, drunk, or a combination of the three. Then an ex-bandmate turns up at Clay's door with a plea for help -- the kind of mission that only the very brave or the very stupid would sign up for.It's time to get the band back together.

Game of Thrones meets Gladiator in this blockbuster debut epic fantasy about a world caught in an eternal war, and the young man who will become his people's only hope for survival.ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE'S TOP 100 FANTASY BOOKS OF ALL TIMEWinner of the Reddit/Fantasy Award for Best Debut Fantasy NovelThe Omehi people have been fighting an unwinnable war for almost two hundred years. The lucky ones are born gifted. One in every two thousand women has the power to call down dragons. One in every hundred men is able to magically transform himself into a bigger, stronger, faster killing machine.Everyone else is fodder, destined to fight and die in the endless war.Young, gift-less Tau knows all this, but he has a plan of escape. He's going to get himself injured, get out early, and settle down to marriage, children, and land. Only, he doesn't get the chance.Those closest to him are brutally murdered, and his grief swiftly turns to anger. Fixated on revenge, Tau dedicates himself to an unthinkable path. He'll become the greatest swordsman to ever live, a man willing to die a hundred thousand times for the chance to kill the three who betrayed him.The Rage of Dragons launches a stunning and powerful debut epic fantasy series that readers are already calling "the best fantasy book in years."The BurningThe Rage of Dragons

“David Gemmell tells a tale of very real adventure, the stuff of true epic fantasy.”—R.A. Salvatore, New York Times bestselling author Chaos and terror stalked the realm. The king had been slain by traitors, and the sword of power had been lost beyond the Circle of Mist. Armies of Saxons, Angles, Jutes, and Brigantes cut a gory swath across the land, led by puppets of the ruthless Witch Queen—whose minions included dark, bloodthirsty creatures and a savage, undead warrior. All hope lay with young Thuro—in whose veins flowed the blood of kings. He would have to defeat the Witch Queen’s monsters and travel to the land of the Mist, there to seek a ghostly army. And the only one who could prepare Thuro to achieve his birthright was the mountain warrior Culain, the one man who knew the queen’s deadly secret . . . The legend of the mystic Stones of Power begins with a tale of blood and glory, of love and betrayal, as a boy must come of age amidst the seemingly impossible quest to become the High King.

New York Times bestselling author Kazu Kibuishi says of Lightfall: “Beautifully drawn. Tim Probert has created a world readers will want to visit.”For fans of Amulet and middle grade readers who love sweeping worlds like Star Wars, the first book of the Lightfall series introduces Bea and Cad, two unlikely friends who get swept up in an epic quest to save their world from falling into eternal darkness.Deep in the heart of the planet Irpa stands the Salty Pig’s House of Tonics & Tinctures, home of the wise Pig Wizard and his adopted granddaughter, Bea. As keepers of the Endless Flame, they live a quiet and peaceful life, crafting medicines and potions for the people of their once-prosperous world.All that changes one day when, while walking through the woods, Bea meets Cad, a member of the Galdurians, an ancient race thought to be long-extinct. Cad believes that if anyone can help him find his missing people, it’s the Pig Wizard.But when the two arrive home, the Pig Wizard is nowhere to be found—all that’s left is the Jar of Endless Flame and a mysterious note. Fearing for the Pig Wizard’s safety, Bea and Cad set out across Irpa to find him, while danger fights its way out of the shadows and into the light.Will these two unexpected friends find the beloved Pig Wizard and prevent eternal darkness from blanketing their world? Or has Irpa truly seen its last sunrise?Praise for LightfallKirkus Best Books of 2020Fall 2020 Indie Next ListJunior Library Guild Selection2021 Texas Library Association’s Little Maverick Graphic Novels Reading List SelectionNominated for the Russ Manning Promising Newcomer Award

"Just plain awesome" -- Brandon SandersonTamas, Taniel, and Adamat have been betrayed and Adro now lies in the hands of a foreign invader. But it remains the duty of the powder mages to defend their homeland unto death in the explosive conclusion the Brian McClellan's Powder Mage trilogy.The capital has fallen. . .Field Marshal Tamas returns to his beloved country to find that for the first time in history, the capital city of Adro lies in the hands of a foreign invader. His son is missing, his allies are indistinguishable from his foes, and reinforcements are several weeks away.An army divided. . .With the Kez still bearing down upon them and without clear leadership, the Adran army has turned against itself. Inspector Adamat is drawn into the very heart of this new mutiny with promises of finding his kidnapped son.All hope rests with one. . .And Taniel Two-shot, hunted by men he once thought his friends, must safeguard the only chance Adro has of getting through this war without being destroyed. . .The Autumn Republic is the epic conclusion that began with Promise of Blood and The Crimson Campaign.

In Hiccup the Viking's misadventures, the stakes have never been higher, and it's friend versus foe to decide the fate of the world. In this, the penultimate title in the amazing story arc that began with How to Train Your Dragon, Hiccup is faced with a personal dilemma against the backdrop of an impending battle and the possible destruction of everything he knows.

The fourth installment of Bernard Cornwell’s bestselling series chronicling the epic saga of the making of England, “like Game of Thrones, but real” (The Observer, London)—the basis for The Last Kingdom, the hit BBC America television series.The year is 885, and England is at peace, divided between the Danish kingdom to the north and the Saxon kingdom of Wessex in the south. Uhtred, the dispossessed son of a Northumbrian lord—warrior by instinct, Viking by nature—has finally settled down. He has land, a wife and two children, and a duty given to him by King Alfred to hold the frontier on the Thames. But then trouble stirs: a dead man has risen, and new Vikings have arrived to occupy the decayed Roman city of London. Their dream is to conquer Wessex, and to do it they need Uhtred’s help.Alfred has other ideas. He wants Uhtred to expel the Viking raiders from London. Uhtred must weigh his oath to the king against the dangerous turning tide of shifting allegiances and deadly power struggles. And other storm clouds are gathering: Alfred’s daughter is newly married, but by a cruel twist of fate, her very existence now threatens Alfred’s kingdom. It is Uhtred—half Saxon, half Dane—whose uncertain loyalties must now decide England’s future.Sword Song is Cornwell’s finest work yet—vivid with period detail, this breathtaking adventure throroughly reimagines one of the most fascinating tales in all of history—the birth of England—and breathes life into the brilliant king who made it possible: Alfred the Great.