Paradise Clash: Bounty Hunter (Paradise Clash #1) by L.E. Price

SPFBO6

Jake Camden is an urban hunter. He finds fugitives, the missing, the lost, stalking his prey through the toxic slums and glittering corporate monoliths of a near-future Philadelphia. His new clients want him to find their missing son, Trevor. The problem? They know exactly where his body is, comatose and on life support. His mind is missing. Trevor logged into a virtual-reality role-playing game, the cultural phenomenon called Paradise Clash…and vanished, disappearing from the grid, trapped somewhere inside the simulation. The developers say it’s a one-in-a-trillion glitch. Jake isn’t so sure; he knows an abduction when he sees one. The company wants it hushed up to avoid a media panic. The family just wants their kid back. To crack the case, Jake Camden will have to leave the world he’s used to, trading back-alley dives and acid rain for the bright blue skies of a fantasy paradise. Elves, dragon-hunting cults, airships and sorcery — it’s nothing the hard-nosed detective has ever had to face. He’ll need new tools, new methods, and new allies, including a gregarious dwarven warrior and a shrewd merchant queen, to find Trevor and bring him home alive. But as mysteries mount and people begin to die in the real world, Jake realizes he’s standing on the edge of something bigger than a single abduction. A criminal conspiracy is unfolding, one with global consequences, and he may be the only man standing in its path.

The Owl at The End of The World by Stas Rolla

SPFBO6

It is said that when the world is again aflame, a Great Owl imprisoned beneath the land will rise and return to the stars from where it came. The world is on a death bed. Volcanos erupt daily. Ash chokes the sky, blotting out the sun. Civilization is a myth. A lone person wanders the barren land. Art and survival comprise her life. She heads south, hoping to find any place where life has not died. A place that does not believe in the story of the Owl. A place where there is hope that the world will not end. A place where she can hide from the truth. She is a descendant of the Owl, and every myth is based off something true...

The Origin of Birds in the Footprints of Writing by Raymond St. Elmo

SPFBO6

Clarence St. Claire is a programmer who cherishes an orderly life. His motto: ‘work is important; people, not so much’. His determination to be The Most Serious Person on the Planet is threatened when he becomes haunted by a mysterious manuscript from his past: 300 pages of possibly random bird tracks. Risking his career and self-possession, St. Claire dares to pursue the manuscript against the opposition of hackers, the NSA, the ghosts of famous writers and doubts of his own sanity. Lost in a maze of bird-prints and their possible meanings, St. Claire determines to summon the late writer Jorge Louis Borges to help with the translation. He will dream Borges into existence, exactly as Borges wrote of doing. But this act stirs the opposition of a secret order of past writers, who may, possibly, have their own agenda. The duel between St. Claire’s reality and theirs leads to a final encounter in The Dark Library, before the dread conclave known as The Tribunal of Dreams. ‘Origins’ is a book about books, about magic realism and artificial intelligence, virtual reality and languages, and how sensible people wind up in strange situations by strangely sensible steps. It is built of the words books whisper to each other alone after the library has closed. It ends as it must: with the hero tossed into a pit by Edgar Alan Poe. Kidding. I mean, that last does happen but the final ending is the hero finding the answer and getting the girl, as well as his sanity back. Mostly back.

Og-Grim-Dog: The Three-Headed Ogre (Me Three #1) by Jamie Edmundson

SPFBO6

Two heads are better than one. Three can be a real pain in the arse. We are Og-Grim-Dog! We have been loved and reviled! We have been the Hero of the Hour, the Darkest Villain, and everything in between! We have saved this world and travelled to worlds beyond it! You think you can distil the life of Og-Grim-Dog into some words on a page? When a stranger visits their inn, the regulars are in for a surprise. Did their Landlord really come here from Gal’azu—the dangerous, edgier province to the east? Could it be that his stories, so fanciful and fantastical, were episodes from his previous life? When their Landlord is persuaded to have his life story recorded for posterity, the surprises come thick and fast. Just like his regulars, you too can learn how a three-headed ogre came to be a hero. Unlike them, you don't stand to be killed if it all goes wrong...

Of Honey and Wildfires (Songs of Sefate #1) by Sarah Chorn

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From the moment the first settler dug a well and struck a lode of shine, the world changed. Now, everything revolves around that magical oil. What began as a simple scouting expedition becomes a life-changing ordeal for Arlen Esco. The son of a powerful mogul, Arlen is kidnapped and forced to confront uncomfortable truths his father has kept hidden. In his hands lies a decision that will determine the fate of everyone he loves—and impact the lives of every person in Shine Territory. The daughter of an infamous saboteur and outlaw, Cassandra has her own dangerous secrets to protect. When the lives of those she loves are threatened, she realizes that she is uniquely placed to change the balance of power in Shine Territory once and for all. Secrets breed more secrets. Somehow, Arlen and Cassandra must find their own truths in the middle of a garden of lies.

Of Fractured Lands and Sundered Dreams (Almodel's Awakening #1) by E.D. Lazure

SPFBO6

The Fimarans’ attempt to overthrow their god backfires. As ghastly creatures begin to fill Fimara and the world’s oceans, Fimarans have no choice but to invade neighboring Odi-Lodo, home of the Dwarfs. Centuries later, facing a revolt by the enslaved Dwarfs, Faija Soothing Wind must find the will to survive and to embrace motherhood. On the run with her daughter, she meets an ailing slave claiming a divine mission which would lead north to Fimara, the accursed land of her ancestors. Beyond the horizon, the nations of Oria, discovering that monsters no longer haunt the seas, race to send ships over uncharted waters. Survivors of a shipwrecked expedition, historian Tellorym Lewyn, Sister Mikala, and Raysho of Alyth land on Dolixa, where the ruling shamans refuse to embrace the Dreamer’s prophecy regarding the arrival of seafarers and the impending transformation of both Dolixa and Fimara. The first book in the Almodel’s Awakening trilogy, Of fractured lands and sundered dreams is inspired by classic tragedies where proud characters must pay a steep price for their hubris while others choose to embrace sacrifice in an uncertain pursuit of salvation. With mature themes and limited fantasy elements, the story revolves around deeply flawed characters facing unimaginable circumstances and unforgiving decisions.

The Obsidian Psalm by Clayton Snyder

SPFBO6

Betrayed by those he trusted. Resurrected by a man he should loathe. A head full of memories he didn’t make. Rook is forced into a bargain that might kill him if he refuses, and if he accepts, could mean the end of existence. Trapped in a shadow war between necromancers, his choices are dwindling to one: Cut a bloody swathe of revenge across humanity’s last remaining city.

Oath Sworn (Wolf's Oath #1) by Meg MacDonald

SPFBO6

One man’s oath. One boy’s sacred duty. One enemy bent on their destruction. Soldier and statesman, Aralt syr Tremayne has finally laid to rest the ghosts of his past. He could no more have prevented the death of the Kavistra’s sons than the death of his own brother. Now, the grave has given one of them up. Aralt’s world is thrown into tumult when Lian Kynsei, last of a soul-touched clan and scion of a religious dynasty, returns and Aralt is oath sworn to protect the boy’s interests. But Lian is also a traumatized boy whose secrets rival Aralt’s own. And neither of them are telling the truth. Oath Sworn begins the Wolf's Oath trilogy, a gothic gaslamp fantasy filled with unforgettable characters and a richly-drawn world where skyships sail above tidal extremes, and crystal swords are tuned to their owner’s souls. Follow this riveting adventure as one man is forced to choose between duty and his lust for revenge.

Oasis by Bharat Krishnan

SPFBO6

Once, there was a truce. Desperaux controlled the west with magic, and Desire claimed the east with steel and science. But now magic has disappeared, and the world has changed. The kingdom of Desire will stop at nothing to maintain the new world order. On Juno’s wedding day, their Mengery soldiers came marching through the Nine desert to rip his world apart. Now he journeys east with his adopted brother, Trey, in search of revenge after the murder of his family. Along the way, the two face bandits and the magical creatures of the Nine. When they finally reach Desire, Juno and Trey will face something even deadlier – their own fears and ambitions. This is a tale of brotherhood, a revenge story that will remind you that everything has a cost – a cost that will be paid to Desire and to the inner demons that govern us all.

The Nothing Within by Andy Giesler

SPFBO6 SPSFC

Root is... different. Though raised in a fearful society that reveres tradition and conformity, she’s irreverent, outspoken, and deeply curious. Her blindness sets her even further apart. Centuries after the Reckoning, a global biotech plague, savage chimeras still threaten human survival. After Root hears a voice that no one else can hear, she flees into the wilderness. Outcast and hunted, she must confront a dire threat to her people--and unravel the mystery of who she really is.

The Nothing Mage by J.P. Valentine

SPFBO6

Beware, oh friend, the Nothing Mage, The man himself a blight, With magic cursed and spells unseen, That none can stand and fight. Beware, oh King, the Nothing Mage, A force that pierces all, The tolling bell that sings of death, ‘Till lords and empires fall. Beware, oh love, the Nothing Mage, A vengeful man is he, So if you dare to draw his wrath, Then nothing ye shall be. "There’s nothing there." The words may as well have been a death sentence to young Declan. Without mana, there could be no studying at the sky-piercing Pinnacle Towers, there could be no great monster hunts, and there could be no following in his father’s legendary footsteps. He’d be a cripple. But when a terrible accident forces him to flee, Declan learns the true nature of his mana. Just because it doesn’t resonate at any known frequency, doesn’t mean it isn’t magic. Just because he can’t cast the same spells as everyone else doesn’t mean he isn’t a mage. And just because you can’t see something, doesn’t mean it isn’t there.

Night of the Bloody Tines (Klinghammer Saga #1) by Rogan Feltmate

SPFBO6

ENTER the city-state of Klinghammer, a former global superpower run by old guilds and older families. Its archaic corporatist government is the last of its kind, and Lord Mayor Trav Pinion sees the writing on the wall. With a pending bid to join the Concert of Tines—an international economic and military alliance—Klinghammer is on the cusp of taking its seat on the global stage once more. However, the Corporation’s repressive policies against magic have sparked outrage across the land, prompting Kasters to rise up… Amid the tumult, Chelsi Ashbruner applies for an internship at Guildhall, and gets much more than she bargained for. She is hired as the Auxiliary to Airn Dutta, an up-and-coming political luminary and a descendant of the City’s most powerful industrial dynasty. An attempt on the Lord Mayor’s life ignites a political powder keg, threatening to expose Klinghammer’s dirtiest secrets. An aged vigilante, a legendary swordsman, and a detective fallen from grace, are forced from retirement. Along with Chelsi and Airn, they’ll soon discover whether the City can survive its past when confronted by its eldest foes…

Nether Light by Shaun Paul Stevens

SPFBO6 SPFBO Finalist

Take a journey through a world punished by a dark, imprisoned magic. A world where children are given poison. A world where your talent is decided by the state. A world where reality is breaking down. When refugee Guyen washes up in the land of his enemy, he knows he will fight, but soon finds himself falling down a well of wonder and improbability. Can he survive a system designed to oppress him? Can he tame his anger to unleash his potential? Can he see his enemy for what they truly are? Nether Light is a gritty, heart-wrenching tale of high magic and high stakes, loves lost and friendships gained, set in an oil-lit, 18th century world far, far away. And it's full to the gills with epic fantasy, plotting, scheming, and racy, jaw-dropping, immersive adventure. What more could you ask for? Grab a copy now. For fans of Patrick Rothfuss, Brandon Sanderson, Neil Gaiman, Mark Lawrence, V.E. Schwab, Ed McDonald, Brian McClellan. Please note: This book contains mature themes.

Necropolis by Xina Marie Uhl

SPFBO6

When prison guard Conyr rescues a young priest from execution, he sets off a dangerous adventure that brings allies in a scheming politician, a mischievous urchin, and a beautiful tavern server. Together, the group must navigate a maze of power-hungry rivals, skilled assassins, and deadly sorcery. For the young priest's lost memory holds the key to more than his past, but the fate of two cities.

Midnight Monster Club (Fallen Rogues #1) by Gerhard Gehrke

SPFBO6

A grave keeper like Digger has one law to remember: harm a pureblood and lose your life. But after an enigmatic woman named Amalia invades his favorite card club seeking refuge, it starts getting hard to stick to this rule. Between mercenaries in pursuit of a stolen treasure hot on her heels and a snooping city sheriff keen on keeping the peace, Digger finds himself in a tight spot. He will have to trust a band of lowlifes to avoid the gallows, or even worse, a sentence to the catacombs. In a city like Diregloom, everyone hides a secret, and Digger has more than skeletons in his closet. The mystery of Amalia’s ill-gotten prize threatens to reveal them all.Digger has one advantage. He’s always known where to hide the bodies. Midnight Monster Club is a dark fantasy novel with action and grim humor. It’s sure to keep you turning the page!For fans of Carnival Row, The Witcher, and the Thieves’ World series.

Mid-Lich Crisis by Steve Thomas

SPFBO6

Is trying to sacrifice your estranged wife to a bloodthirsty demon an irredeemable act of evil? This is the sort of question the Dread Wizard Darruk Darkbringer struggles with. After being called evil one too many times, Darruk sets off to find a new purpose in his life and become a beloved celebrity. Can a dark wizard come to terms with himself and prove to the world that a few atrocities don’t define who he is? You’ll feel guilty for laughing at his twisted tale of self-discovery.

Magister's Bane (Call of the Elements #1) by Yvette Bostic

SPFBO6

Magic can’t be real, right? Tell that to the werewolf glaring at me with his near-black eyes or the handsome vampire in the corner. Did I enjoy growing up rejected by everyone I encountered because of my physical abnormalities? Hell no! The only thing I ever wanted was to be accepted by someone. Not everyone, just anyone. A normal job and one solid meal a day would’ve been nice too. You know that old saying, “Be careful what you wish for?” Yeah, that one really sucks. After a vampire kidnapped me, I suddenly become wanted by all the wrong people. Why would those blood sucking fiends want a deformed, malnourished woman who looked more like a little girl? I only get more questions when an elemental mage steals me from the vampires and thrust me into a role I wasn’t prepared for. I thought I wanted to know the answers, but discovering the truth forced me into a fight for my life. One I wasn’t sure I could win.

Magical Friends by Barbara G. Tarn

SPFBO6

Once upon a time he dreamed of becoming a dragon rider. Once upon a time he had magical friends. Now Torik is a woodcutter who has moved to his king's castle out of friendship for the prince heir. Now King, Lambert is almost killed in a revolt and Torik's magical friends resurface to save him. Both exiled from their hometown, Torik and Lambert wander in search of a new home with two of Torik's childhood magical friends – a young Genn healer and a dragonette. Twins with different destinies, Babirye and Tamika were born in Sannia, up north, where people have pale skin and golden manes. When they were children, their merchant father moved the family to Agharek, where their dark skins were less conspicuous. But when the twins developed different attitudes, their father sent them to the Queendom of Maadre. Now Babirya is a shaman and Tamika a strong warrior woman who go back to Agharek to their brothers and magical friends. A journey through the world, meeting people and seeing places. With a dragonette. A Silvery Earth novel.

Magic, Sorcery and Witchcraft: Book One of Marcus Grimm saga by Stas Borodin, Stanislav Borodin

SPFBO6

The steppes were always feared, for the steppe warlocks were cruel and ruthless. For centuries, the tiny kingdom of Lieh was a shield that protected civilization from the hordes of ferocious nomads. But one day, everything changed. The truce that had lasted for many years was broken and a powerful new warlock invaded the kingdom. Young Marcus Grimm must take up arms and join his father's army in his maiden battle. Adventurer, student at the Academy of Magic, pirate hunter, army scout and slayer of sorcerers – on the way he will find true friends and make some fearsome enemies. He will become the Hand of Destiny. The first book of the Marcus Grimm saga. Translated from Russian. Stas Borodin is the author of the popular fantasy series “Magic, Sorcery and Witchcraft”, written in the genre of heroic fantasy. The series includes the novel of the same name “Magic, Sorcery and Witchcraft”, novels “Black Hands” and “Funeral Pyres”. “Fists of clay” is a stand-alone novel and a sequel to “Magic, Sorcery and Witchcraft”. The novel “Stars and Arrows” is written in the genre of alternative history and set in times of American Civil War.

The Madness of Hallen (Khalada Stone #1) by Russell Meek

SPFBO6

Battle raged on the desert sands of the Great Depression. A land of tribal warriors, scattered and leaderless, was finally united under one mind, a man proclaimed as Husam al-Din, the Sword of the Faith. On the dark day of his death, al-Din’s priests tore his mind apart, preventing his treacherous wife, Maymunah, from taking control of the armies. They disappeared beyond the borders of the known lands, taking with them six harmonic stones containing the mind of al-Din, leaving the tribes leaderless and united only by faith. Revenge vowed, Maymunah set her descendants on a quest to recover the lost stones. Centuries passed as nothing was found, until twenty generations later, in an ice cave deep in the Meil’vohllen Mountains, Hallen made a discovery that would change the world forever. Unable to contain the power of the stones, Hallen’s mind was lost, and for three further generations the daughters of Maymunah have only heard whispers in the wind... The Madness of Hallen is the first of four epic fantasy novels, following the lives of two brothers in their quest against the rightful heir to the mind of Husam al-Din.

The Lure of Fools (The Age of the Infinite #1) by Jason James King

SPFBO6

“Adventure is the lure of fools, and excitement glamour to the gullible. The siren song of the world is as music to the wanderer’s feet, but that dance leads only to the soul-less grave.” So Jekaran’s uncle has warned him. But that doesn’t stop him from leaping at the exhilarating chance to single-handedly rescue a beautiful woman from a gang of lecherous thieves. But the bored farm boy quickly finds that he is no match for the group of angry street thugs, and only escapes death by bonding a magical sword that grants him the strength and skill of a master swordsman. Unfortunately, a peasant wielding such magic is forbidden and punishable by death. Thus Jekaran finds himself a fugitive with his fate tied to that of the exotic and mysterious, Kairah; a fey woman who must deliver a dire warning to the king that, if heeded, could prevent the very extinction of humanity.

The Lost War (Eidyn #1) by Justin Lee Anderson

SPFBO6 SPFBO Winner SPFBO Finalist

The war is over, but something is rotten in the state of Eidyn. With a ragged peace in place, demons burn farmlands, violent Reivers roam the wilds and plague has spread beyond the Black Meadows. The country is on its knees. In a society that fears and shuns him, Aranok is the first magically-skilled draoidh to be named King’s Envoy. Now, charged with restoring an exiled foreign queen to her throne, he leads a group of strangers across the ravaged country. But at every step, a new mystery complicates their mission. As bodies drop around them, new threats emerge and lies are revealed, can Aranok bring his companions together and uncover the conspiracy that threatens the kingdom? Strap in for this twisted fantasy road trip from award-winning author Justin Lee Anderson.

Lords of Deception (War of Four Kingdoms 1) by Christopher C. Fuchs

SPFBO6

Emperors and kings thought it had been buried long ago: the Order of the Candlestone was defeated, the grim deeds of its assassins forgotten and its dangerous alchemy shunned. But Arasemis, an eccentric warrior-scholar, is determined to revive the Order and return the continent to its primitive origins, if he can control his apprentices. Arthan Valient is a young nobleman from a respected family who wrestles with providing honorable service to a weak king. Thrust into a powerful position before he is ready, Arthan must navigate the political intrigue of a court in slow collapse, while avoiding Arasemis’s new assassins. Arasemis, Arthan, and their companions learn that help can be found in the most unlikely of places, even as the shadow of war looms across the continent. But trust is always elusive.

Lord of Time by Michele Amitrani

SPFBO6

Time doesn’t heal all wounds. It makes them deeper. Alfred White’s only concern in life is his career. Until he meets Pacific, a mysterious man who questions Alfred’s obedience to a system designed to harvest people’s time. Yes. Time. Pacific seems to know the inner truth behind time, and he will share this knowledge—if Alfred will accept his mentorship for one day. But Alfred soon learns that the road to temporal knowledge is paved with death and destruction. And, as the day continues, Alfred discovers another truth: there is nothing Pacific wouldn’t do for more time.

A Locket of No Particular Significance (Weskerlee #1) by Florien St. John

SPFBO6

"Are you suggesting Captain that a Faerie might have wings? Like a bird? That's preposterous. Why, think of all that effort flapping one's arms getting from point A to point B when with just a small amount of magic, one could achieve the very same result. Without the flapping. Next, you will have us in nests gathering worms and shiny things. I'd be very embarrassed for any Faerie so tiny it must fly about like an insect, building tiny houses in the exposed roots of trees, dressed in nothing but Butterbell trousers. Have you ever worn Butterbell trousers Ib? Of course you haven't. No one has. I am not sure who is responsible for creating such an idle fantasy. Perhaps one of your literature types? There is nothing worse than a writer, who when they have nothing to write of consequence, find themselves seduced by the temptation to expostulate on what could or might be, instead of what is!" - The Good Faerie Jasper Wintergreen. Can a GOOD Faerie turned BAD ever turn GOOD again? Higher Faerie has banished unworthy Lesser Faerie from The Other-Lands. Like it or not, the human realm of The Middle Counties and The Wild South is besieged.When bookish Alisanne Frochard, a Vigilant apprentice studying Faerie Lore at Weskerlee Folly is tasked to track down a mischievous Dark Faerie alongside her handsome Captain whom she may or may not admire more than she ought, she hopes to prove herself worthy, or at the very least, tolerably capable.Jasper Wintergreen and Faerydae Ib, two elite Nobles from Faerie, both hard-pressed to contain their natural proclivity for expressing excessive and elaborately ebullient expostulations, are unbeknown to the Vigilants, watching over them.There's a Half-Faerie orphan if we are to believe what she says and she is never ever where she is thought to be. There is a riddle, heartrending lost love, a prologue, an enchanted locket and a blue feather in a hat worn for luck. An almost Regency period historical fantasy of manners where the wit appears larger than the plot holes and where becoming lost in a fog in a bog somewhere east of Whirrel is only of concern during Autumn.

Limbo by Thiago d'Evecque

SPFBO6

O Limbo é para onde todas as almas vão após a morte. Além de humanos, deuses esquecidos e espíritos lendários também vagam pelo plano. Muitas almas sabem exatamente onde estão e por que; a maioria, entretanto, ainda tem a impressão de estar viva. A morte é um hábito difícil de se acostumar. Um dos espíritos residentes no Limbo acorda sem nenhuma lembrança de sua identidade. Ele descobre que a Terra está prestes a ser destruída pelos próprios humanos e fica encarregado de enviar doze almas heroicas de volta. Elas reencarnarão no plano dos homens e tentarão reverter o quadro apocalíptico. Contudo, poucas almas encaram o retorno com bons olhos. O espírito deve, então, forçá-las. Armado, de preferência. Assim, resolve visitar um velho amigo: Azazel, anjo ferreiro e primeiro escolhido da lista. O espírito descobre mais sobre quem realmente é, ouve uma versão completamente diferente sobre a rebelião dos anjos e é presenteado com uma surpresa de péssimo gosto. LIMBO mistura elementos e referências de videogames, RPGs, HQs, animes, mangás, filmes, séries e livros. De Lovecraft a Final Fantasy, é uma homenagem às influências que marcaram o autor.

Legends of the Exiles by Jesse Teller

SPFBO6

The isolated barbarians of Neather have deep ancestry and strict traditions. Four resilient women defy tribal customs as they fight to overcome their own tragedies. Abuse. Addiction. Assault. Grief. What struggles can they endure to defend their hopes and their hearts? Helena seeks a love as bold as she, yet finds the men of her village lacking. Jocelyn fears her strange visions and sacrifices a life with the man she loves for the one her destiny demands. Torn apart by abuse and grief, Ellen is a brilliant woman who must focus her intellect on finding reasons to persevere. Rachel, a brash girl of noble heritage, dares all men to challenge her and longs for one who will. In this set of four interwoven novellas, award-winning author Jesse Teller challenges assumptions and showcases the strength of feminine resolve.

Legacy of Bones (A Tale of Bone and Steel #1) by Kirk Dougal

SPFBO6

An ancient evil is waiting to be reborn... Gera worked hard at his apprenticeship, but now he's done. All he wants to do is go home to see his brother and sister. When he finally reaches their cabin, Dax, his older brother, is there, isolated and drinking as usual, but Keely can't be found. Then the brothers receive the news. In the middle of the day, she was taken. Testers from the Sacara Institute rode off with her. Like a pebble cast into a still lake… …this was the first ripple. What were the magic users at the Institute's plans for her? The road was long. The captors rode hard, and it would be a miracle if the brothers caught them before they reached the Institute. Even if they did, freeing their sister wouldn’t be easy. But as time ticks away to a far greater threat, Gera and Dax must strive to overcome more than just external threats if they want to save Keely. The evil is waiting. Legacy of Bones is the first book in the A Tale of Bone and Steel series, an epic adventure filled with unforgettable characters, gritty action, and the future of the world hanging in the balance. If you like your epic fantasy mixed with a side order of grimdark, then this series is for you.

Lazarus Code (First Family Saga #1) by Sharon Van Orman

SPFBO6

"I am Ryder of the Pentimalli, a member of the first families and Captain of the deep space exploration vessel, Serendipity." In the centuries since our forefathers tamed an uncivilized land and revolted against a King we had grown complacent. When our government waged cyber war on us the spirit of those long dead patriots was ignited, sparking a second revolutionary war. It was then that the First Families were born. Genetically enhanced humans who carried within our blood stream nano-bots that repair and regenerate. We were meant to be the record keepers. The vanguard of our species as we spread across time and space. I have returned home after a decades long mission to find Earth devastated by the Weeping Death. A disease that has made it possible for the dead to rise. With the help of my brothers and my crew we will find who is responsible. They expected us to be complacent. They were wrong.

Last Memoria (Memoria Duology #1) by Rachel Emma Shaw

SPFBO6 SPFBO Finalist

A character driven and heartbreaking, dark-fantasy thriller about flawed people making flawed decisions. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind meets Joe Abercrombie. SPFBO 2020 Finalist. Sarilla has learnt one thing from stealing memories. Everybody lies. There's nothing Sarilla hates more than stealing memories, but the king forces her to take them to keep his subjects in line. She wants to escape to where nobody knows what she is or what she can do, but her plans go awry when she runs into Falon. Falon has a six month void in his memories that he's desperate to restore. He doesn't know why they were taken or what they contained, nor why the man he loves is acting so cagily about what happened during that time. He hopes to use Sarilla to get back his stolen memories and doesn't care what she wants or why she's desperate to escape. She will help him get them back, whether she wants to or not.

Lasera ~ Book One of The Mer Archives by Danielle Mathieson Pederson

SPFBO6

I should've died in that pool. A merman saved me. Seventeen year old Valerie used to want the ripped lifeguards to rescue her, but her perceptions explode after a freak diving accident at the local pool when she’s rescued by a shy, intelligent merman named Wyn. A year before, a drunk driver killed her parents and the only thing that keeps her going is her training—she’s a champion diver—and she still spends every waking moment in the pool. Initially Valerie thinks she's going crazy and hallucinating. But she learns that her mind isn't making him up; it's because Wyn saved her that she can now see him and others can't. Wyn’s ability to see her clearly, touches her heart. What confuses both of them is why have Wyn's captors trapped him in a public pool surrounded by humans? Valerie finds out the captors are moving Wyn to a more secure scientific facility in just three days. How can she save him?

Lady, Thy Name Is Trouble by Lori L. MacLaughlin

SPFBO6

Trouble is Tara Triannon's middle name. As swords for hire, Tara and her sister Laraina thrive on the danger. But a surprise invasion throws them into chaos... and trouble on a whole new level. Pursued by the Butcher, a terrifying assassin more wolf than man, Tara and Laraina must get a prince marked for death and a young, inept sorceress to safety. There's only one problem - eluding the Butcher has never been done. Aided by a secretive soldier of fortune, they flee the relentless hunter. Gifted with magic and cursed by nightmares that are all too real, Tara must stop an army led by a madman and fend off an evil Being caught in a centuries-old trap who seeks to control her magic and escape through her dreams - all while keeping one step ahead of the Butcher.

Kingdom of Aces: Ruby Edition by Steven Smith

SPFBO6

The Red Kingdom receives disturbing news of a rebellion by the banished savages in the west, the Stormbringer's are on the brink of raiding the capital and the queen must make a stand. That is until her son throws a spanner in the works, by making an enemy of two other realms who are not exactly the queen's biggest fans. The queen of clubs must protect her corrupt kingdom from all sides, the list of candidates for the throne grows in an explosive almighty clash and a war that will surely collapse the Red Kingdom of Curillia.

A King's Bargain (Legend of Tal #1) by J.D.L. Rosell

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The legend of Tal Harrenfel is sung across the Westreach - and with each telling, the tales grow taller. But though he’s declared a hero by his King, Tal has never claimed to be more than a man... After three decades of fighting warlocks, killing mythical beasts, and hunting enchanted treasure, Tal has had enough. Running from the deeds of his past, he retreats to his home village under a different name and meets an unlikely companion: Garin, a village boy who dreams of making a name for himself and seeing the world beyond their sleepy town. When Tal receives a mysterious visitor, both he and Garin find themselves thrown into a sojourn across the kingdom. Soon, they become embroiled in the plots of monarchs, on the frontlines of an ancient war, and at the mercy of a fabled sorcerer. Now Tal must live up to his legend, and Garin discover his own power, to survive the forces pitted against them…

Keepers of Arden: The Brothers, Volume 1 by L.K. Evans

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Over a thousand years have passed since the Long Wars ended and the higher gods abandoned the lands of Arden. Divided and fearful, Arden has managed to secure a restless peace. But peace never lasts. Darkness creeps through the lands once more. Salvarias, a man born of shadow and fire, will become hunted for his magic and a power that can grant a vile god instant victory. Only his brother, Wilhelm, can save him from not only the evil stalking him, but also the darkness that grows within.

The Jealousy of Jalice (A Disaster of Dokojin #1) by Jesse Nolan Bailey

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The Realms have split apart, the Stones of Elation have been hidden, and warnings of dokojin drift among the tribes. The land and its people are corrupted. The Sachem, chief of the Unified Tribes, is to blame. It is this conviction that drives Annilasia and Delilee to risk their lives. Afraid of the aether magic he wields, they enact a subtler scheme: kidnap his wife. In her place, Delilee will pretend to be the chieftess and spy on the Sachem. Unaware of this plot against her husband, Jalice is whisked away by Annilasia. Pleading with her captor proves futile, and she rejects Annilasia’s delusional accusations against the chief. After all, the Sachem has brought peace to the land. Yet a dangerous truth hides in Jalice’s past. As she and Annilasia flee through a forest of insidious threats, they must confront the evil plaguing the tribes and the events that unleashed it.

Jacob's War by Mark Hood

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Meet Jacob Williams. A survivor of the First World War, forever changed by his experience. Now he’s facing down the terrors that conflict unleashed upon an unsuspecting world. Weak spots have always existed between our world and that of the Fae; stone circles help to keep the most dangerous sealed shut. But now Stonehenge is failing… It falls to the members of the Fae Defence Society to repair the ancient monument, protect humanity from the terrors it holds back and prevent another disastrous war. Jacob and his wartime comrade Harry are on the front lines in a supernatural battle which threatens everything.

Inkarna by Nerine Dorman

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Ashton Kennedy wasn't a nice guy. He cheated on his girlfriend, knocked up a powerful drug lord's sister, and abused vast quantities of illegal narcotic substances. Whoever ran him over with a big shiny SUV was doing the world a favour. His very male, tattooed body is the last place Elizabeth Rae Perry--a member of an ancient Egyptian cult--expected to reincarnate in, instead of the three-year-old girl she'd been promised. Not only must she now come to terms with her new existence in the body of a disagreeable man, and clean up the mess he made of his life, she also has to unravel the mystery of why House Adamastor's chapter house is standing empty and find a way to protect a dangerous secret she had no idea she was supposed to keep. As if fate couldn’t deal her another blow, she has also attracted the attention of a malicious and potentially dangerous ghost. And to top it all off, she must deal with the consequences of finding love in a most unexpected place.

I, Exile (A Thief's Tale #1) by David M. Samuels

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Exiled into a wasteland because of a heist gone wrong, Emelith vows to hunt down the one responsible. Except not all is what it seems in the haunted realm of the Cauldron. Classic Swords & Sorcery meets cinematic 90's action (Tomb Raider, The Mummy, Indiana Jones) in this rollicking thief's tale.

Hell Hound (Jane Doe Chronicles #1) by M.J. Sylvester

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A foul-mouthed bounty hunter and assassin, Jane Doe is not your average witch. Working for the ruling magical class in Britain - the Merlins - she takes on the jobs and creatures that other members of the magical community wouldn't touch with a six-foot spell staff. As rumours spread that a powerful being wants to free a horrific hound from its prison on Dartmoor, Jane and her assistant, Dawn, are tasked by their Handler to find the perpetrator and stop them using any means possible.

Hedge Witch (The Cloven Land Trilogy #1) by Simon Kewin

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Two Worlds, one nightmare... Cait Weerd has no idea she's being sought by the undain: sorcerous creatures that feed off the spirit of the living. She doesn't know they need her blood to survive. She doesn't even know she's a witch, descended from a long line of witches. Cait Weerd doesn't know a lot, really, but all that's about to change. At Manchester Central Library she's caught up in sudden violence. In the chaos she's given an old book that's been hidden there. Given it and told to run. Hide the book or destroy it. The book contains all the secrets of the undains' existence. They and their human servants want to find it as much as they want to find her. Cait learns the fates of two worlds are at stake. Just what she needs. Along with definitely-not-a-boyfriend Danny, she has to decide what the hell to do. Run, fight or hope it all goes away. It's only then she learns who she really is, along with the terrible truth of what the undain have been doing in our world all this time...

Heartscale (Thunder of Dragons #1) by Lola Ford

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On one side of the world Graith discovers a dying dragon in his barn. While the country is hunting after the monster, he doesn’t hesitate in doing his best to aid her. Before she is fully healed, Azelia urgently needs to get back to her cave to protect her eggs. Unable to even fly, Graith decides to accompany her, worried of what might happen. On the other side of the world, where the future ruler is decided by dragons, Nerie is chosen by the Kiriga, the golden hatchling. Raised as a merchant in the middle district of Roria, she’s shocked to learn that she is the king’s bastard. Thrown into a chaotic palace life, she’s forced to balance learning to be princess and being bonded to a dragon.

The Headlock of Destiny (Titan Wars #1) by Samuel Gately

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Some say titans are descended from giants. Others say they are risen from men. But there’s never any debate about where to find them. They will be in the center of a roaring crowd, beating the hell out of each other. From contenders like the Savage and Scott Flawless to pretenders like Richard the Living Portrait and Troll-Blooded Thom, a titan’s lot in life is the same: To wrestle for dominion and glory in the squared circle. Van, a quiet titan from the brewery town of Headwaters, wants no part in this. He’d prefer to be left alone with a beer. But destiny has him in a headlock, and it is prepared to drag him into battles that will shake the land and change his world forever. Step into the ring with this one-of-a-kind novel, brewed special for fans of epic fantasy, fans of professional wrestling from the Golden Era and beyond, or simply fans of a good tale.

The Hammer Of The Gods: So You Want To Be A Star (The Druid Trilogy #1) by Andrew Marc Rowe

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It’s Hammer Time! Pitted against a perverse pantheon of warring deities, Gudleik Sigbjornsson and Rosmerta O’Ceallaigh are two dreamers living worlds apart, hoping to create a better life for themselves by following their dreams. It won’t be easy: Gudleik’s soul is the battleground between two gods of Asgard. And Rosmerta is supposed to do as her parents have done: offer her life to the service of an ancient Celtic fertility god. But the gods are only half of it… the biggest foes the two will face are to be found within their own minds. Can Gudleik overcome the ugly blessing of a trickster god and prevent Ragnarok? Will Rosmerta find the courage to forge a new path? Will there be a whole load of dirty jokes and comments on the human condition? Yes, yes, there will be… to that one, the third question. Also, check dis out: there is a bunch about Merlyn and King Arthur of Camelot, a Goblin King, an ancient fell jellyfish god, encroaching Christian zealots, characters whose proclivities are too crude to mention here, because, well, gotta make the advertising copy pop, you know? An epic fantasy comedy as blue as the cover art, get your copy of The Hammer Of The Gods today!

Graveyard Gods (The Raider and the Rapier #1) by Joseph Daniel, Bryan Arneson

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The currents sweep east, but the dead float south. This corpse laden tide carries with it the destinies of a tomb raider, a knight turned captain, and an empire fraying at the seams. A grave robber who dabbles in the alchemical arts, Edmond Mondego has spent the last seven years in search of a God Grave. He hopes to find magic within to relinquish his murdered wife's soul to the land of the living. What he finds instead is an imprisoned goddess stripped of her power but in full possession of divine secrets, including a rumor: every five years, one living soul is returned to the Emperor of the Gilded Islands. Meanwhile, the Lord Captain Augustin Mora, newly appointed commander of His Imperial Majesty's Ship Intrepid, guards the forbidden waters for his Emperor. Edmond's profane plundering of a God Grave and the machinations of the admiralty send Augustin on a quest to capture the tomb robber. But an enemy from his past muddies the waters, and Augustin is forced to reunite his old knight's guild and put hand to hilt once again. And so, Edmond sets every ounce of cunning and guile to raise himself through the ranks of nobility, evading Augustin Mora and all manner of assassins; he has only one goal—to convince the Emperor to use the magical boon for his wife's soul, and, failing that, to take the throne for himself.

Gods of the Mountain (A Cycle of Blades Book 1) by Christopher Keene

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“If that’s true, he’s returned from the grave, and you better believe he’s got something in store for this city.” Accused of murder, Faulk is on the run after his chance at redemption went horribly wrong. He finds himself allied with the mysterious Yuweh, a woman sent by her gods to capture an assassin who is spreading forbidden magic. Journeying across a land where all magic, cultures, and wars are dictated by its cycles in nature, they uncover a plot that threatens to destroy everything they hold dear. Faulk and Yuweh must reconcile their clashing cultures to prevent the chaos from repeating... ...as another attempts to use it for his benefit.

Godless Lands by Sean Crow

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In a plague-ravaged world, humanity struggles to recognize itself. The Blight, a vicious disease that decimated mankind, beasts, and even plant life has left its crippling mark on the world. Isolated havens, once prosperous cities, selfishly hoard what little food remains. Yet, hope lives on where least expected. Wandering the Godless Lands between the havens, Ferris, an aged and Blight scarred soldier turned vagabond finds himself thrust into the role of guardian for a desperate noblewoman and her daughter. Thinking he does only a small kindness, Ferris soon finds himself on the run from Sir Arlo, the infamous Death Knight. With no other options, Ferris leads his wards to a hidden community amidst the desolation and hazards of the Godless Lands. What Ferris doesn’t know is that others stalk the death poxed land; a danger that the world is just becoming aware of. The Butcher of Riven is on the prowl, and he hunts for the Hungry God...

God of Small Affairs by Olga Werby

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Time is made out of threads. Pull one and someplace somewhere things unravel. We know how to pull on the right thread because we see the whole tapestry of life’s possibilities. That’s why we are so good at finding a good path into a future. I say a future because there is no such thing as the future. We are made of time threads—thick bundles of knots that can pull and twist and change the course of history. It’s all about connections—pull one strand, and the others twist with it. Like Newton’s second law, for every action there is an equal an opposite reaction. But we are small in relation to civilized time, planetary time, cosmological time. To make a big change requires a course correction many many years prior. Like if you want to deflect a meteor hurtling toward Earth, you need to change its course far out in space where just a nudge would do it. To make a course correction close to the impact event, a lot of energy is required. Same with history… So we are great at little things, at manipulating tiny threads of life. We are the gods of small affairs…until we are not. “God of Small Affairs” is a creepy and slightly twisted mystery tale of a small mid-Western town, struggling to survive, told from the perspective of man who is culturally a stranger there and yet learns to find comfort and gives back love to people in need…his and those that reside in the town of Wilkins. It’s a bit of a horror story, a bit of fantastical science fiction, and a take on what the world would be if one could talk directly to a god…even a god who is only interested in micro-management of human species. Jon Uolan is the grandson of First Nation tribe elder. His assignment is to bring home a god. Not the omnipresent god or the god that set the weight of the proton and the rate of universal expansion, but rather an everyday kind of god, the god that lives among her people, the god of small affairs, Ay-Tal Blue. An easy assignment turns into a nightmare when Ay-Tal gets accidentally shot and Jon becomes a suspect in a murder investigation. And while Jon is in prison, a huge earthquake and tsunami wipe out his home village. His grandfather dies in the disaster. With his people scattered and living apart, the whole tribe might cease to exist. The new generation just is not interested in the old tribal ways. Ay-Tal is no longer there to help and guide them. What is Jon to do? How will a new path into the future shape the people who got mixed up with a god of small affairs?

Gisela's Passion (Elisabeth and Edvard The Siblings' Tale Book 0) by Astrid V.J.

Ever since she can remember, 18-year-old Gisela Winry has wanted to dance. Her strict father sees dancing as the path to immorality, licentiousness and debauchery. Devastated at his wrath after she secretly auditions and wins the title harvest queen of Ylvaton, Gisela turns to her best friend, Hilarion, who proposes a path she cannot take. With their friendship broken, Hilarion retreats to the solace of the forest where he lets his hatred and jealousy fester. Meanwhile, Gisela meets Vincent, a young nobleman seeking to escape his dead brother’s shadow. Will Gisela be able to uphold her family honour and get to do the one thing she’s always been passionate about? Will Vincent’s chance encounter with the lovely harvest queen from a tiny village become more meaningful than earning his father’s approval? And will Hilarion fight for the love of his life or give in to the darkness within him. Immerse yourself in the life of the common people of Vendale in this prequel to the Siblings’ Tale. Gisela’s Passion is the retelling of a lesser-known Slavic folk tale which is better known in its incarnation as a French ballet.

Free Agent (Chronicles of Myelad #1) by Rohan M. Vider

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The start of an epic fantasy adventure... Of a game played between gods where the playing field is the world itself and the pieces, living beings. A young man is caught unwittingly between, in a strange world, without allies or help, and must battle for survival using his wits and magic alone. Pawn or Player...his fate is his to decide...which will he prove to be? Accidentally summoned from Earth to the world of Myelad, Kyran becomes embroiled in an eons-old war between the gods. Earning their ire, he is sentenced to die. To escape the gods' trap, Kyran must become a player in their game that even the gods would learn to fear... For those who enjoy epic tales of fantasy, this is a coming of age story of Kyran Seversan, a young man from Earth, stranded in another world where magic not only exists, but is part of an elaborate game between immortals. Please note this is an adaptation of the original works, the Gods' Game. Enter the world of Myelad and join Kyran on his epic journey!