Recommendations based on "The Land of Gold"

When you gamble with kingdoms, all bets are off. Legends are born in this thrilling and New York Times bestselling spy saga from the fantasy author who is legend herself: Tamora Pierce.Aly is from a family known for great deeds. She is the daughter of Alanna, the famed knight and King’s Champion of Tortall. But even though she is bold and brave, like her mother, her true talents lie on her father’s side, in the art of spying.When Aly is captured by pirates and sold as a slave to an exiled royal family in the faraway Copper Isles, she strikes a bargain with the trickster god. If she can keep young noblewomen Sarai and Dove safe for the summer, then he will return Aly to her family. The task should be simple, but Sarai and Dove are anything but. It’s a time of murderous plotting at court, and Aly will need to rely on her training and the insights of a strange young man named Nawat to survive in a world where trust can cost you your life.“Tamora Pierce’s books shaped me not only as a young writer but also as a young woman. She is a pillar, an icon, and an inspiration. Cracking open one of her marvelous novels always feels like coming home.”—SARAH J. MAAS, #1 New York Times bestselling author“Tamora Pierce didn’t just blaze a trail. Her heroines cut a swath through the fantasy world with wit, strength, and savvy. Her stories still lead the vanguard today. Pierce is the real lioness, and we’re all just running to keep pace.”—LEIGH BARDUGO, #1 New York Times bestselling author

Third in the extraordinary series featuring Alissa, a young woman seduced by the power of magic.

“Between Amelia Peabody and Indiana Jones, it’s Amelia—in wit and daring—by a landslide.”—New York Times Book ReviewNew York Times bestselling Grandmaster Elizabeth Peters transports us to the Land of the Pharoahs—and leaves us in the most capable hands of intrepid archeologist and adventurer Amelia Peabody—in The Falcon at the Portal. A suspenseful and always surprising romp through 1911 Egypt with Amelia and her equally indomitable family, the Emersons, The Falcon at the Portal immerses us in a fascinating world of antiquity and majesty, and plunges us into a mystery as perilous as it is puzzling. As the Cleveland Plain Dealer suggests, let us all “raise a toast to the incomparable Amelia Peabody.”

A tale of dark secrets, deep love, and dangerous magic!Since childhood, Sabriel has lived outside the walls of the Old Kingdom, away from the random power of Free Magic, and away from the Dead who refuse to stay dead. But now her father, the Charter-Mage Abhorsen, is missing, and to find him Sabriel must cross back into that world. With Mogget, whose feline form hides a powerful, perhaps malevolent spirit, and Touchstone, a young Charter Mage, Sabriel travels deep into the Old Kingdom. There she confronts an evil that threatens much more than her life--and comes face-to-face with her own hidden destiny.

Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie Cain's whole world is turning upside down. With Valkyrie struggling to protect her dark secret, Skulduggery and the gang are more vulnerable than ever, just as a plague of bodysnatching Remnants are released upon the world.

Long ago, the great wizard Merlin planted the seed that would become the peaceful world of Avalon. Now, though, Avalon is suffering from mysterious droughts. Then the very stars begin to lose their light, and it seems that the Lady of the Lake's dire predictions are about to come true. The fate of Avalon now rests with Tamwyn, a wandering wilderness guide; Elli, an apprentice priestess; and Scree, a young eagleman. One of them is the true heir of Merlin, the only person who can save Avalon . . . and one of them is the dreaded child of the Dark Prophecy, fated to destroy it. As in his acclaimed epic The Lost Years of Merlin, T. A. Barron has created a radiant, richly imagined world, full of high adventure and un-forgettable characters.

Prepare for the unfamiliar When every bit of human magic disappears suddenly from Vastia, it falls on the familiars—Aldwyn the telekinetic cat, Skylar the know-it-all blue jay, and Gilbert the gullible tree frog—to find the Crown of the Snow Leopard, an ancient relic that can reverse the curse. They learn that the only way to do this is by following in the paw prints of Aldwyn’s missing father, who went searching for the Crown several years earlier. This magical spirit trail extends into the Beyond, where our heroes encounter new enemies and danger, while Aldwyn learns about his mysterious past. Full of high-flying adventure and heartwarming friendships, Secrets of the Crown will make readers want to get even more familiar with The Familiars!

The third action-packed quest in an exciting new six book character-led series for 7+ girls who love fantasy, adventure, and high-kicking heroines! On her tenth birthday, tomboy Sophie learns she is the Guardian of a magic gateway between our world and the Shadow Woods. She must keep the human world safe from mischievous goblins, sprites and elves. It's the turn of the Spider Gnomes, gruesome man-sized spiders who make their webs in the trees of the Shadow Woods, to do battle with the Guardian. When the whole town becomes infested with spiders, Sophie and Sam realise something is seriously wrong, and the daring duo enter the Shadow Woods to investigate. During a terrifying encounter with these eight-legged Shadow Creatures, Sam gets bitten and starts acting very strangely... It doesn't take long for the pair to realise that the Spider Gnomes' fangs carry a poison that turns their victims into spiders themselves! Can Sam find the antidote before it's too late, and can Sophie figure out the strange clue before the spiders invade the town, find the gem and deliver it into the horrid hands of King Ug?

In the second magical volume of the Enchanter’s Child duology, the bestselling author of the Septimus Heap series, Angie Sage, crafts a stunning finale filled with humor, drama, and nonstop action, just right for fantasy-adventure lovers. In the first book of the Enchanter’s Child duology, Alex discovered the truth: Not only does she possess magical powers but her father is Hagos RavenStarr, who was once the king’s Enchanter. Alex is pursued by the fiendish Twilight Hauntings, monstrous Enchantments created because a prophecy foretold the king’s death at the hands of an Enchanter’s Child. The Twilight Hauntings are designed to rid the land of all Enchanters and their children, but Alex has other ideas. Why should she be forced to leave the place where she belongs? So now Alex is on a mission to destroy the Twilight Hauntings. And to do so she must find the very thing that created them—a magical talisman called the Tau. But where is it? In her search for the Tau, Alex enlists the reluctant help of her father and a strange assortment of people along the way. As she travels, Alex hones her magical skills and learns that even family and friends can surprise her. Praise for the first book in the Enchanter’s Child duology, Twilight Hauntings: "Intricate worldbuilding, richly evocative settings, nuanced characters, deftly woven plotting, and wry humor. An unmitigated delight." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "Fans of fantasy and adventure will snap this up and eagerly await the sequel." —School Library Journal (starred review) "Sage deftly crafts an endearing and familiar fantasy story, expertly characterizing distinct, extreme personalities. Fantasy fans will highly anticipate the next steps in Alex’s journey in the projected sequel of the Enchanter’s Child duology." —Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

When the evil Baron Vengeous escapes from prison, Detective Skulduggery Pleasant and his apprentice, Valkyrie Cain, have just two days to recapture him or the Baron's creature, the Grotesquery, may summon the Faceless Ones back to their world. Suggested level: primary, intermediate.