Category: Dark fantasy

The Sword Defiant (Lands of the Firstborn)

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The Sword Defiant (Lands of the Firstborn)
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THE SWORD CARES NOT WHO IT CUTS

Many years ago, Sir Aelfric and his nine companions saved the world, seizing the Dark Lord’s cursed weapons, along with his dread city of Necrad. That was the easy part.

Now, when Aelfric – keeper of the cursed sword Spellbreaker – learns of a new and terrifying threat, he seeks the nine heroes once again. But they are wandering adventurers no longer. Yesterday’s eager heroes are today’s weary leaders – and some have turned to the darkness, becoming monsters themselves.

If there’s one thing Aelfric knows, it’s slaying monsters. Even if they used to be his friends.

Set in a world of dark myth and dangerous prophecy, The Sword Defiant launches an epic tale of daring warriors, living weapons and bloodthirsty vengeance.

‘The front runner for my book of the year . . . The Sword Defiant is a love letter to roleplaying games, to Tolkien, to what epic fantasy has been about for me through my whole life. I adored this book from the first page to the last. Hanrahan has taken the best of the old, the best of the last two decades, and then brought it screaming into the modern era. Fans of Gemmell and Abercrombie need this on their shelves’
Ed McDonald, author of Blackwing

The Skald’s Black Verse: A Grimdark Scifi Fantasy (The Dreadbound Ode Trilogy)

The Skald's Black Verse: A Grimdark Scifi Fantasy (The Dreadbound Ode Trilogy)
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Brohr needs out of his village before they put a noose around his neck.

Wanted for the bizarre and brutal murder of an occupying soldier, the true culprit is too horrifying to comprehend.

Hunted by invaders from another world, Brohr wrestles to uncover the truth of his brother’s death, and to spur his downtrodden kinsmen in a desperate revolt against an empire that spans the heavens.

But a fallen god lurks in the shadows, intent upon a rebellion of its own.

Above Brohr’s head, looms a dire omen, one that spells the end of his homeworld. Will he turn to the shadows for strength? How can one scorned half-breed, an outcast, a berserker, stand against an empire, against a god, against the very sky falling?

Servant of the Jackal God: The Tales of Kamose, Archpriest of Anubis

Servant of the Jackal God: The Tales of Kamose, Archpriest of Anubis
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Night-Black Sorcery and the Wrath of Malevolent Gods

More than any writer since Robert E. Howard, Keith Taylor has a unique ability to evoke sheer terror amid the remote and haunted reaches of the ancient world. His tales of Kamose, archpriest of Anubis, the Egyptian god of death have been among the most popular features of the modern Weird Tales magazine.

Kamose… awesomely powerful, yet scarred, cursed, and nearly driven mad by forces even he cannot control for long…. Here are eleven of his supernatural adventures, two of them published for the first time.

“…convincing and authentic, revealing a deep knowledge of the history and cultures of the period.” —The Encyclopedia of Fantasy

Keith Taylor’s fiction won two Ditmar Awards, and was nominated for four more, as well as for two Aurealis Awards.

Night’s Master (Flat Earth Book 1)

Night's Master (Flat Earth Book 1)
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The classic dark fantasy series Tales from the Flat Earth opens with this collection of three dreamlike inter-linked tales featuring the cruel and beautiful Azhrarn, Prince of Demons

Reminiscent of the Arabian Nights and Greek mythology, perfect for fans of Jack Vance’s Dying Earth fantasy series

Rediscover master fantasist Tanith Lee’s classic, most popular series, where demons and gods grant wonders and wreak havoc. Visit the Upperearth, where dwell the gods; the Underearth, the realm of nightmarish demons; the Innerearth, domain of the dead; and the Flat Earth itself, the home of mortals.

Supreme amongst them all is the demon god Azhrarn, Night’s Master, whose deadly whims could change the lives of those in the Flat Earth. Azhrarn holds in his heart a mystery which could alter the very existence of the Flat Earth forever.

Old Moon Quarterly

Old Moon Quarterly
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Old Moon Quarterly is a magazine of weird sword-and-sorcery fantasy. In the tradition of Clark Ashton Smith, Tanith Lee and Karl Edward Wagner, it contains stories of strange vistas, eldritch beings, and the bloody dispute thereof by swordsmen and swordswomen both.

Issue 1 contains the following stories:

“A Town Called Trepidation” by Paula Hammond.
“Stella Splendens” by Graham Thomas Wilcox.
“The Questing Beast” by Carys Crossen.
“Brightstar” by Mob.

Dark Harvest (Warhammer Horror)

Dark Harvest (Warhammer Horror)
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A Warhammer Horror novel

A disgraced warrior-priest who prowls the Greywater Fastness is forced to confront his past when a message from an old friend sends him on a perilous quest. In an isolated village full of untrusting souls, his darkest secrets threaten to come to light.

THE STORY

Harran Blackwood was a Warrior-Priest of ruthless virtue. Now he’s a man with a scorched reputation, prowling the back alleys of Greywater Fastness, content to fight the petty wars of racketeers for survival. But when a desperate message arrives from an old friend, Blackwood is forced to confront a past he thought long buried.

Summoned to the isolated village of Wald, Blackwood sets off on a perilous trek to ensure the sins of his former life remain forgotten. He soon discovers that Wald is a hostile, secretive place with sins of its own. Deep in the murky marshes, where the cruel chants of village folk echo and the stink of death hovers low,

Blackwood must channel his bitterness and rage to defy the ancient darkness that now hunts him before he is devoured, body and soul.

READ IT BECAUSE

Explore a corner of the Mortal Realms full of dangerous characters and dark secrets in a novel by Josh Reynolds, master of the sinister.

Karnov: Phantom-Clad Rider of the Cosmic Ice

Karnov: Phantom-Clad Rider of the Cosmic Ice
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“By the powers of blood and divine sorcery, you have been transformed into a voyager of the Cosmic Ice. When you slay an undead being, the tainted soul of the creature will be absorbed into your magic armor and you will be granted the ability to open gateways to various places on this earthly plane and beyond.”

Journeying homeward, the warrior Karnov is anxious to reunite with his wife and son. Upon his return, he is shocked to discover his homeland ravaged by vampires. His worst fears are confirmed—his family has been brutally murdered and vampirized!

Traumatized and tormented, Karnov vows to destroy the undead lord responsible for unleashing such vile hordes upon his lands. Aided by a sultry witch, he gains the ability to master the dimensional gateway known as the Cosmic Ice. But will Karnov’s new powers and burning lust for retribution be enough to avenge his loved ones, or will undead wraiths corrupt the earth forever?

The Tome Of Haren

The Tome Of Haren
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THE TOME OF HAREN, A POWERFUL BOOK, MADE FROM MAGIC, WITH VAST STORES OF KNOWLEDGE, THAT COULD SHIFT THE BALANCE OF A WAR BREWING AT THE EDGE OF NAREAN’S BORDERS… AND ONE YOUNG MAN WILL BECOME THE KEEPER FOR ALL TO SURVIVE…

The nation of Narean is vulnerable.

There hasn’t been a Keeper to protect and defend its people for over 150 years.

As rumours of war grow, Narean needs a Keeper more than ever. Orphaned since birth, Aeidor has no expectations for life except surviving day to day, so when a legend from old stories claims that he is to be the next Keeper, the powerful champions entrusted with defending Narean, Aeidor must journey farther than he ever imagined in search of an artefact long thought lost, the Tome of Haren.

Now Aeidor must contend with elite mercenaries, called Blooders, hired to retrieve the Tome for their mysterious dark master.

As the challenges mount and time draws nearer to the war to come, Aeidor questions whether he can live up to the legacy of the Keepers and save the nation of Narean…

“A modern classic for lovers of awesome fantasy fiction and great characters amongst glorious backdrops of worlds within our minds… Wonderful work…” Taylor, Indie Book reviewer

Dusk: A Circle of Nine Novel

Dusk: A Circle of Nine Novel
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The world cannot fear what it does not know; a fact that has allowed the people of Dusk to exist in relative peace for centuries. Hidden behind a shroud of mystery on the distant continent of Xulrathia, the southern Kingdom is home to the most devout followers of Ayrelon’s god and goddess of death; who take their church quite literally.

Few know the true nature of Dusk’s citizens, and fewer know the true nature of Queen Mordessa, the demonic creature who rules them.

The only threat the immortal residents of Dusk might fear lies to the north, hiding within a veil of secrecy, deep within the Talaani Empire. Their ancient war long abandoned for reasons they cannot remember, Dusk’s Undead and Unliving residents live in relative peace, completely unaware of what their Queen has done to hold the terrible, scaled empire at bay.

Siscci: A Hands of Death Novella

Siscci: A Hands of Death Novella
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Born to a life of abandonment and servitude, Syl’Kara is confronted with a horror she could not have imagined. Still a child, by elven standards, she is ill-equipped to handle life on her own, but that will soon become the least of her worries.

Faced with an enemy that it seems no one else can withstand, she is left with a simple choice: run and hope someone else can put an end to the terror, or take matters into her own hands, despite her crippling fear.