Category: General fantasy

The Riftwar legacy : Krondor: The Betrayal -Riftwar Cycle

Related Posts
Spellslinger

A would-be mage with no magic of his own has to defeat powerful enemies with only cunning and deception in the first book of an exciting adventure fantasy series from Sebastien de Castell. Kellen is moments away from facing his Read more

The Curse of the Star Wraiths (Steel & Stormbright Book 1)

In a world where gods walk alongside mortals, and humanity is cowed into submission by the empire of Alcaron, two brothers find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. Taken from their homes and subjected to terrors that Read more

Krondor
Date:
MainCategory:
Type:
Genre:
Published: 1999
Lenght:
Seriesize:
Author:
Narrator:
Reception:
It is 9 years on from the aftermath of Sethanon and deadly forces are stirring on the horizon. The bringer of the latest grim tidings is Gorath, a moredhel (dark elf). At the root of all the unrest lie the mysterious machinations of a group of magicians known as The Six.

Part of the Riftwar Cycle, in chronological order :

Riftwar Saga

Riftwar legacy  (written after the other two)

Krondor’s sons

The Silmarillion (tolkien)

The Silmarillion
MainCategory:
Genre:
Published: 2001
Lenght:
Author:
Narrator:
Receptions: ,

illustrated edition here

The #1 New York Times Bestseller

The Silmarillion is the core of J.R.R. Tolkien’s imaginative writing, a work whose origins stretch back to a time long before The Hobbit. This mythopoetic masterpiece is a must-read before you watch The Lord of the Rings on Amazon.

“Majestic! … Readers of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings will find in The Silmarillion a cosmology to call their own, medieval romances, fierce fairy tales, and fiercer wars that ring with heraldic fury… It overwhelms the reader.”—Time

The story of the creation of the world and of the First Age, this is the ancient drama to which the characters in The Lord of the Rings look back and in whose events some of them, such as Elrond and Galadriel, took part. The three Silmarils were jewels created by Fëanor, most gifted of the Elves. Within them was imprisoned the Light of the Two Trees of Valinor before the Trees themselves were destroyed by Morgoth, the first Dark Lord. Thereafter, the unsullied Light of Valinor lived on only in the Silmarils, but they were seized by Morgoth and set in his crown, which was guarded in the impenetrable fortress of Angband in the north of Middle-earth.

The Silmarillion is the history of the rebellion of Fëanor and his kindred against the gods, their exile from Valinor and return to Middle-earth, and their war, hopeless despite all their heroism, against the great Enemy.

“A creation of singular beauty … magnificent in its best moments.”—The Washington Post

“Heart-lifting … a work of power, eloquence and noble vision… Superb!”—The Wall Street Journal

The Fall of Númenor: And Other Tales from the Second Age of Middle-earth

The Fall of Númenor
Date:
MainCategory:
Types: ,
Genre:
Published: 2022-11-15
Lenght:
Author:
Narrator:
Reception:

J.R.R. Tolkien’s writings on the Second Age of Middle-earth, collected for the first time in one volume. J.R.R. Tolkien famously described the Second Age of Middle-earth as a “dark age, and not very much of its history is (or need be) told.” And for many years readers would need to be content with the tantalizing glimpses of it found within the pages of The Lord of the Rings and its appendices, including the forging of the Rings of Power, the building of the Barad-dûr and the rise of Sauron. It was not until Christopher Tolkien published The Silmarillion after his father’s death that a fuller story could be told.

Although much of the book’s content concerned the First Age of Middle-earth, there were at its close two key works that revealed the tumultuous events concerning the rise and fall of the island of Númenor. Raised out of the Great Sea and gifted to the Men of Middle-earth as a reward for aiding the angelic Valar and the Elves in the defeat and capture of the Dark Lord Morgoth, the kingdom became a seat of influence and wealth; but as the Númenóreans’ power increased, the seed of their downfall would inevitably be sown, culminating

in the Last Alliance of Elves and Men. Even greater insight into the Second Age would be revealed in subsequent publications, first in Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth, then expanded upon in Christopher Tolkien’s magisterial twelve-volume The History of Middle-earth, in which he presented and discussed a wealth of further tales written by his father, many in draft form.

Now, adhering to the timeline of “The Tale of Years” in the appendices to The Lord of the Rings, editor Brian Sibley has assembled into one comprehensive volume a new chronicle of the Second Age of Middle-earth, told substantially in the words of J.R.R. Tolkien from the various published texts, with new illustrations in watercolor and pencil by the doyen of Tolkien art, Alan Lee.

It Takes a Thief to Start a Fire

It Takes a Thief to Start a Fire
Date:
MainCategory:
Type:
Genre:
trope:
Published: 2016-10-25
Lenght:
Seriesize:
Author:
Reception:
Following hot on the heels of the events of It Takes a Thief To Catch a Sunrise, ...To Start a Fire sees Jacques Revou and Isabel de Rosier adapting to life in Great Turlain while competing against murderous fences, shadowy secret police, and a group of thieves who can control the very elements. "We started our lives together with barely a coin to our name. We have won fortunes and lost them. We have stolen…

Follow up to it take a thief to catch a sunrise

The Fantastically Underwhelming Epic: of a dead wizard and an average bard

The Fantastically Underwhelming Epic: of a dead wizard and an average bard
Date:
Newstuffs: ,
Genre:
Lenght:
Author:
Reception:

George is a legendary hero… wait, no.
George is an incredibly powerful sorcerer… also no?
Okay, fine.
George is an unremarkable human bard who made a promise a long time ago.
A promise that set him on a path to find the remains of Simantiar, the greatest wizard who ever lived.
Though all that was left were bones, Simantiar was still very much alive and quite… underwhelming.
This is their story: The Fantastically Underwhelming Epic of a dead wizard and an average bard.

The Pariah (The Covenant of Steel, 1)

The Pariah (The Covenant of Steel, 1)
Date:
MainCategory:
Type:
Genre:
Lenght:
Seriesize:
Author:
Narrator:
Reception:

“A gritty, heart-pounding tale of betrayal and bloody vengeance. I loved every single word.” —John Gwynne

The Pariah begins a new epic fantasy series of action, intrigue and magic from Anthony Ryan, a master storyteller who has taken the fantasy world by storm.

Born into the troubled kingdom of Albermaine, Alwyn Scribe is raised as an outlaw. Quick of wit and deft with a blade, Alwyn is content with the freedom of the woods and the comradeship of his fellow thieves. But an act of betrayal sets him on a new path – one of blood and vengeance, which eventually leads him to a soldier’s life in the king’s army.

Fighting under the command of Lady Evadine Courlain, a noblewoman beset by visions of a demonic apocalypse, Alwyn must survive war and the deadly intrigues of the nobility if he hopes to claim his vengeance. But as dark forces, both human and arcane, gather to oppose Evadine’s rise, Alwyn faces a choice: can he be a warrior, or will he always be an outlaw?

A Pilgrimage of Swords (The Seven Swords)

A Pilgrimage of Swords
Date:
MainCategory:
Type:
Genre:
Published: 2019-09-30
Lenght:
Seriesize:
Author:
Narrator:
Reception:

“It is two hundred years since the deity known as the Absolved went mad and destroyed the Kingdom of Alnachim, transforming it into the Execration, a blasted wasteland filled with nameless terrors.

For decades, desperate souls have made pilgrimage to the centre of this cursed land to seek the Mad God’s favour, their fate always unknown. Now a veteran warrior known only as Pilgrim, armed with a fabled blade inhabited by the soul of a taunting demon, must join with six others to make the last journey to the heart of the Execration.

Allied with a youthful priest, a beast-charmer, a duplicitous scholar, an effete actor and two exiled lovers, Pilgrim must survive madness, malevolent spirits, unnatural monsters and the ever-present risk of treachery, all so that the Mad God might hear his prayer and, perhaps, grant redemption.

But can sins such as his ever be forgiven?”

A Time of Dread (Of Blood & Bone Book 1)

A Time of Dread
Date:
MainCategory:
Type:
Genre:
trope:
Published: 2018-02-20
Lenght:
Seriesize:
Author:
Narrator:
Reception:

Acclaimed epic fantasy author John Gwynne returns with the first book in a new trilogy, perfect for fans of George R. R. Martin, Brandon Sanderson, and David Gemmell. “A Time of Dread reminds me of why I became a fantasy enthusiast in the first place.”–Robin Hobb

A race of warrior angels, the Ben-Elim, once vanquished a mighty demon horde. Now they rule the Banished lands, but their peace is brutally enforced. In the south, hotheaded Riv is desperate to join the Ben-Elim’s peacekeeping force, until she unearths a deadly secret.

In the west, the giantess Sig investigates demon sightings and discovers signs of an uprising and black magic. And in the snowbound north, Drem, a trapper, finds mutilated corpses in the forests. The work of a predator, or something far darker? It’s a time of shifting loyalties and world-changing dangers. Difficult choices need to be made. Because in the shadows, demons are gathering, waiting for their time to rise…

Nine Princes in Amber: Book One (The Chronicles of Amber 1)

The Great Book of Amber
Date:
MainCategory:
Type:
Genre:
Published: 1999-12-08
Lenght:
Seriesize:
Author:
Reception:

10 short books (200 pages)

Roger Zelazny’s Chronicles of Amber have earned their place as all-time classics of imaginative literature. Now here are all ten novels, together in one magnificent omnibus volume.

Witness the titanic battle for supremacy waged on Earth, in the Courts of Chaos, and on a magical world of mystery, adventure, and romance.

Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1)

Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1)
Date:
MainCategory:
Type:
Genre:
tropes: ,
Published: 2011-03-22
Lenght:
Seriesize:
Author:
Narrator:
Reception:
Protagonist:

NOW THE ACCLAIMED HBO SERIES GAME OF THRONES—THE MASTERPIECE THAT BECAME A CULTURAL PHENOMENON Winter is coming. Such is the stern motto of House Stark, the northernmost of the fiefdoms that owe allegiance to King Robert Baratheon in far-off King’s Landing.

There Eddard Stark of Winterfell rules in Robert’s name. There his family dwells in peace and comfort: his proud wife, Catelyn; his sons Robb, Brandon, and Rickon; his daughters Sansa and Arya; and his bastard son, Jon Snow. Far to the north, behind the towering Wall, lie savage Wildings and worse—unnatural things relegated to myth during the centuries-long summer, but proving all too real and all too deadly in the turning of the season. Yet a more immediate threat lurks to the south, where Jon Arryn, the Hand of the King, has died under mysterious circumstances.

Now Robert is riding north to Winterfell, bringing his queen, the lovely but cold Cersei, his son, the cruel, vainglorious Prince Joffrey, and the queen’s brothers Jaime and Tyrion of the powerful and wealthy House Lannister—the first a swordsman without equal, the second a dwarf whose stunted stature belies a brilliant mind. All are heading for Winterfell and a fateful encounter that will change the course of kingdoms.

Meanwhile, across the Narrow Sea, Prince Viserys, heir of the fallen House Targaryen, which once ruled all of Westeros, schemes to reclaim the throne with an army of barbarian Dothraki—whose loyalty he will purchase in the only coin left to him: his beautiful yet innocent sister, Daenerys.