Recommendations based on "The Rivals of Painful Gulch"

Peace comes at the price of bloodshed--five battles will buy you peace, four to win and one to lose. At the temple of Terayama, the words of the blind sage's prophecy continue to haunt Takeo as he readies his armies for battle. Determined to avenge Shigeru's death and claim his rightful inheritance, Takeo and Kaede, together with Takeo's forces, fight their way to the domain of Maruyama. But then they must separate. Takeo makes plans for a battle by the sea, and Kaede returns to her family's home at Shirakawa. Will they see each other again?'Blood-splashed combat alternates with contemplative stillness, and the writing is extraordinary. Hearn's trilogy ends as it began, virtually pitchperfect' - Francis Spufford, " Evening Standard"

A puppet is crowned. The true heir remains hidden. A rogue's secret could could change everything.War has come to Melengar and once more Royce and Hadrian are hired to make a desperate gamble and form an alliance with the Nationalists who are fighting the Imperialists in the south. But Royce has plans of his own and uses this opportunity to discover if an ancient wizard is using Riyria as pawns in his own bid for power. To find the truth, he must unravel the secret of Hadrian's past--what he discovers may end their friendship and break Riyria in two.And so continues the next volume of treachery and adventure, sword fighting and magic, myth and legend.This is the second omnibus (containing books #3 & #4) in the original series, The Riyria Revelations, from best-selling author Michael J. Sullivan. It takes place twelve years after the events of The Riyria Chronicles and the two series can be read in either chronological order or order of publication, although the author suggests reading in publication order.Publication OrderTheft 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 The Crown Tower (Riyria Chronicles #1) The Rose and the Thorn (Riyria Chronicles #2) The Death of Dulgath (Riyria Chronicles #3) Chronological OrderThe Crown Tower (Riyria Chronicles #1) The Rose and the Thorn (Riyria Chronicles #2) The Death of Dulgath (Riyria Chronicles #3) 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 Other Books by Michael J. SullivanHollow World (2014 - stand alone science fiction) Age of Myth (2016 - Legends of the First Empire #1) Lists and Award Nominations2013 Audie Award Finalist 2012 Shadowhawk's Shade Best of the Best 2012 Audible's 5-star The Best of Everything 2012 MathiasCavanaugh Top 10 Books 2012 AudioBookaneers Favorite Listens, Runner up 2012 Audible's Best of 2012 Editor's Picks 2011 Library Journal's Best Books for Fantasy/Sci-Fi 2011 Only the Best Science Fiction and Fantasy's Top 10 2011 Best Fantasy Releases by Barnes and Noble Blog

The third book in the epic and bestselling series that has gripped millions.A hero will be forged from this broken land.As seen on Netflix and BBC around the world.Uhtred wants revenge. He wants the land and castle that is his. He wants his treacherous uncle to pay for taking them.Heading north with his lover, former nun Hild, he finds chaos as the Vikings battle among themselves to consolidate their hold on the region. At the heart of it are men from Uhtred’s past – Sven the One-Eyed and Kjartan the Cruel, men of vicious reputation. Still, he has matched such men before.Then Uhtred suffers a betrayal to rival the treachery that deprived him of his birthright. It will leave him trapped with no hope of escape …Uhtred of Bebbanburg’s mind is as sharp as his sword. A thorn in the side of the priests and nobles who shape his fate, this Saxon raised by Vikings is torn between the life he loves and the cause he has sworn to serve.

Selected as a 2003 Popular Paperback for Young Adults by the Young Adult Library Services AssociationLong ago, so the storyteller claimed, the evil God Torak sought dominion over all and drove the world to war. Now the one talisman keeping this sinister force from seizing power has been disturbed—and no one will be safe. . . .Raised on a quiet farm by his Aunt Pol, Garion spends his days lounging in his aunt’s warm kitchen and playing in the surrounding fields with his friends. He has never believed in magic, despite the presence of a cloaked, shadowless stranger who has haunted him from a distance for years. But one afternoon, the wise storyteller Wolf appears and urges Garion and his aunt to leave the farm that very night. Without understanding why, Garion is whisked away from the only home he has ever known—and thrown into dark and unfamiliar lands.Thus begins an extraordinary quest to stop a reawakened evil from devouring all that is good. It is a journey that will lead Garion to discover his heritage and his future. For the magic that once seemed impossible to Garion is now his destiny.The first exciting adventure in David Eddings’s The BelgariadPawn of Prophecy is the newest addition to the Del Rey Imagine program, which offers the best in fantasy and science fiction for readers twelve and up.

Book 2 in Raymond E. Feist's bestselling Firemane Saga! Hatushaly and his young wife Hava are living a good life, working to reopen the burned-out Inn of the Three Stars in the prosperous trading town of Beran's Hill. But there is a great deal more to this bucolic scene than meets the eye. Both Hatu and Hava were raised on the secret island of Coaltachin, and though they may appear to be no more than a young couple in love, preparing for the midsummer festival where their friends Declan and Gwen will be wed, they are in fact assassins on a mission, waiting instructions from their masters in the Kingdom of Night. Moreover, Hatu is the last remaining member of the ruling family of Ithrace - the legendary Firemanes. He dyes his flaming red hair, and has studied to control his dangerous magical powers. But however hard Hatu may be hiding from all those who would seek to use or to destroy him, fate has other plans. Horrific events are approaching Beran's Hill, bringing death and devastation to the peaceful town as unknown and monstrous forces are unleashed. And nothing will ever be the same again.

GRAVE FORCES ARE converging to seize control of the Book of Thoth, a hidden artifact whose pages hold the key to creating—or unraveling—the very threads of existence. Under the care and tutelage of Cooper, Rowan’s most lethal Agent, Max McDaniels and David Menlo embark on a quest to protect the book from the demon Astaroth, who would exploit its secrets with dire consequence. And with Astaroth free after centuries of imprisonment, the world outside Rowan’s gates has already become hostile.Far from home, cut off behind enemy lines, Max and his allies must journey across Europe, descend into the fabled Frankfurt Workshop, brave the tangled corners of the Black Forest . . . and cross beyond the veils of our very world.

A new epic fantasy trilogy about a young nation at odds with the ancient forces that have begun to stir as fortune seekers and sorcerers flock to the frontier. Set in of Brian McClellan's Powder Mage trilogy.A world on the cusp of a new age. . .The young nation of Fatrasta is a turbulent place -- a frontier destination for criminals, fortune-hunters, brave settlers, and sorcerers seeking relics of the past. Only the iron will of the lady chancellor and her secret police holds the capital city of Landfall together against the unrest of an oppressed population and the machinations of powerful empires.Sedition is a dangerous word. . .The insurrection that threatens Landfall must be purged with guile and force, a task which falls on the shoulders of a spy named Michel Bravis, convicted war hero Mad Ben Styke, and Lady Vlora Flint, a mercenary general with a past as turbulent as Landfall's present.The past haunts us all. . .As loyalties are tested, revealed, and destroyed, a grim specter as old as time has been unearthed in this wild land, and the people of Landfall will soon discover that rebellion is the least of their worries.

The country is in turmoil. With the capital city occupied, half a million refugees are on the march, looking for safety on the frontier, accompanied by Lady Flint's soldiers. But escaping war is never easy, and soon the battle may find them, whether they are prepared or not.Back in the capital, Michel Bravis smuggles even more refugees out of the city. But internal forces are working against him. With enemies on all sides, Michel may be forced to find help with the very occupiers he's trying to undermine.Meanwhile, Ben Styke is building his own army. He and his mad lancers are gathering every able body they can find and searching for an ancient artifact that may have the power to turn the tides of war in their favor. But what they find may not be what they're looking for.

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.

The gripping penultimate instalment of the Alliance of Light. When half brothers Lysaer and Arithon defeated the Mistwraith its revenge left them cursed to lifelong enmity. Having conquered the maze and acheived self-redemption, Arithon, Master of Shadow, is now the guest of the formidable sorcerer, Davien the Betrayor. No one knows how his influence will affect Arithon's recovered mage power, or his newly awakened rogue talent for prescience. Meanwhile Arithon's relentless enemies will stop at nothing to acheive his downfall. The Koriani enchantresses are determined to make him their captive and their pawn. And as the Alliance of Light fanatics regroup after their defeat, the core of their priesthood now stands corrupted by a dark cabal who plot to enslave their leader, Lysaer, and use the Mistwraith's curse as their own private weapon to break the world's order. The sorcerers of the Fellowship compact are sorely beset and the clans are counting their ruinous losses. Arithon, who holds their last hope of survival, chooses the most dangerous course: heart and mind he dedicates himself to avoiding killing, though allies and enemies muster for war, single-mindedly blind to the consequences.