Recommendations based on "Stronghold (Dragon Star, Book 1)"

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 a conspiracy that uncovers a plot far greater than the mere overthrow of a tiny kingdom. Can a self-serving thief and an idealistic swordsman survive long enough to unravel the first part of an ancient mystery that has toppled kings and destroyed empires? And so begins the first tale of treachery and adventure, sword fighting and magic, myth and legend. When author Michael J. Sullivan self-published the first books of his Riyria Revelations, they rapidly became ebook bestsellers. Now, Orbit is pleased to present the complete series for the first time in bookstores everywhere.

Two Men Who Hate Each Other. One Impossible Mission. A Legend In The Making. Hadrian Blackwater, A Warrior With Nothing To Fight For, Is Paired With Royce Melborn, A Thieving Assassin With Nothing To Lose. Hired By An Old Wizard, They Must Steal A Treasure That No One Can Reach. The Crown Tower Is The Impregnable Remains Of The Grandest Fortress Ever Built And Home To The Realm's Most Prized Possessions. But It Isn't Gold Or Jewels That The Wizard Is After, And If He Can Just Keep Them From Killing Each Other, They Just Might Succeed. Chronological Order The Crown Tower (riyria Chronicles #1) The Rose And The Thorn (riyria Chronicles #2) Theft Of Swords (riyria Revelations #1 & #2): Contains The Crown Conspiracy & Avempartha Rise Of Empire (riyria Revelations #3 & #4): Contains Nyphron Rising & The Emerald Storm Heir Of Novron (riyria Revelations #5 & #6): Contains Wintertide & Percepliquis *** Fantasy Faction's Top 10 Anticipated Books For 2013 ****** Bestfantasybooks.com Most Anticipated Books Of 2013 ****** Ranting Dragon's 50 Fantasy & Sci-fi Novels To Look Forward To In 2013 ***

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

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

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Babel and Yellowface comes an all-new, fully illustrated, hardcover Deluxe Collector’s Edition of R. F. Kuang’s The Dragon Republic, with a full-wrap illustrated jacket and black-and-white interior art by JungShan Chang throughout, plus embossed case, designed endpapers, and stenciled edges! Considered one of Time Magazine’s 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time, the second book in the beloved Poppy War Trilogy continues Rin’s epic struggle to defend her homeland at any cost. The war is over. The war has just begun. Three times throughout its history, Nikan has fought for its survival in the bloody Poppy Wars. Though the third battle has ended, the war still rages for Rin. Haunted by the atrocity she committed to save her people, the shaman and warrior is on the run from her guilt, the opium addiction that holds her like a vise, and the murderous commands of the fiery Phoenix—the vengeful god who has blessed Rin with fearsome power. While the young warrior welcomes death, she must remain alive until she avenges the traitorous Empress who betrayed her homeland. Rin’s only hope is to join forces with the enemy of her enemy—the powerful Dragon Warlord, who plots to destroy the Empress. But Rin soon learns that the Empress and the Dragon Warlord are not what they seem, leading her to contemplate the unthinkable: using the Phoenix’s deadly power once more. Because there is nothing Rin won’t sacrifice to save her country . . . and exact her vengeance.

Sweeping adventure, breathtaking twists of fate, and immersive worlds based in Norse mythology are woven into this first volume of the Runestone Saga, from the New York Times bestselling author of the Seven Realms and Shattered Realms series. Since Ragnarok--the great war between the gods and the forces of chaos--the human realm of the Midlands has become a desperate and dangerous place, bereft of magic. Sixteen-year-old Eiric Halvorsen is among the luckier ones--his family has remained prosperous. But he stands to lose everything when he's wrongly convicted by a rigged jury of murdering his modir and stepfadir. Also at risk is Eiric's half-systir, Liv, who's under suspicion for her interest in seidr, or magic. Then a powerful jarl steps in: He will pay the blood price if Eiric will lead a mission to the fabled Temple at the Grove--the rich stronghold of the wyrdspinners, the last practitioners of sorcery. Spellsinger, musician, and runecaster Reginn Eiklund has spent her life performing at alehouses for the benefit of her master, Asger, a fire demon she is desperate to escape. After one performance that amazes even herself, two wyrdspinners in the audience make Reginn an irresistible offer: return with them to the Temple to be trained in seidr, forever free of Asger. Eiric's, Liv's, and Reginn's journeys converge in New Jotunheim, a paradise fueled by magic and the site of the Temple. They soon realize that a great evil lurks beneath the dazzling surface and that old betrayals and long-held grudges may fuel another cataclysmic war. It will require every gift and weapon at their command to prevent it.

A New Quest Begins in the sequel to DragonSpell A dragonkeeper of Paladin, Kale is summoned from the Hall to The Bogs by the Wizard Fenworth to serve as his apprentice and tend his newly hatched meech dragon, Regidor. But Kale isn’t going alone. The Hall is sending a student to monitor her performance and report back to the scholars. Worst of all, it’s Bardon– an older boy Kale finds irritating, but who at least can hold his own in a sword fight. New Friendships Are Forged Meanwhile, the Wizard Risto has seized another meech dragon, bringing him dangerously close to gaining the power he seeks. So with only a motley band of companions, Kale sets out on a desperate quest to rescue the second meech, to free those dragons already enslaved, and to thwart Risto’s devious plans. It’s up to Kale to lead the search and to embrace the role that’s rightfully hers. But will her efforts be enough to save the land of Amara from the dark future that awaits at Risto’s hands?

The High Druid of Shannara trilogy draws to a thrilling close as a young hero nears completion of his trial by fire, a banished ruler fights for her life in a wilderness of dread, and forces of darkness and light square off in a battle unto death for the right to absolute rule. Prepare to be spellbound by the masterly hand of bestselling legend weaver Terry Brooks, conjuring at the peak of his skills.For reasons known only to himself, the King of the Silver River has charged young Penderrin Ohmsford, barely more than a boy, with the daunting task of rescuing his aunt, Grianne, Ard Rhys of the Druid order, from her forced exile in the terrifying dimension of all things damned: the Forbidding. With the noble dwarf Tagwen and the prodigal elven princess Khyber Elessedil by his side–and with the outcome of the bloody war between the Federation and the Free-born at stake–Pen has accepted his mission without question. But not without risk . . . or sacrifice.Because Shadea a’Ru, the ruthless Druid responsible for imprisoning the true Ard Rhys and usurping leadership at Paranor, has sent her agents and assassins in relentless pursuit of Pen and his comrades. And in securing the talisman he needs to breach the Forbidding, Pen has paid a devastating price. Now if the Free-born forces–already decimated by the Federation’s death-dealing new weapon–should fall, Shadea’s domination of the Four Lands will be assured. Nothing short of Pen’s success can turn the tide.But Pen’s challenge grows greater when he learns that his parents, Bek Ohmsford and Rue Meridian, have fallen into Shadea’ s hands. He must try to help them–but once within the walls of Druid’s Keep, where Shadea’s minions and dark magic lurk at every turn, Pen’s survival is far from assured. Yet it will all pale in comparison to the horrors that wait inside the Forbidding–horrors poised to break free upon the Four Lands when the time is right. . . .

Half-brothers Arithon and Lysaer were laid under a curse of lifelong enmity when they defeated the Mistwraith and freed the world of Athera. As Stormed Fortress opens, Arithon is recovering from an assault by necromancers and more determined than ever to keep his vow to avoid killing. But Lysaer and his troops lay siege to the citadel at Alestron, trapping those closest to Arithons heart. The only way he can help them is by using his mage talent to invoke ancient magics, at great risk to himself.

WARRIOR QUEENS AND ROMAN INVADERS DO BATTLE IN THE FINAL VOLUME OF THIS THRILLING EPIC FANTASY TRILOGY.Caesar's soldiers have murdered, massacred and pillaged their way through Gaul and loom on the far side of the sea, ready to descend upon Britain - with them are an unstoppable legion of men twisted by dark magic. Somehow Queen Lowa must repel the invasion, although her best general is dead and her young druid powerless. She faces impossible odds, but when the alternative is death or slavery, a warrior queen will do whatever it takes to save her people. EVERY EMPIRE HAS ITS DOWNFALL.