This week’s roundup of the newest releases in fantasy and adventure follows a wandering gnome into the depths of an abandoned mine, the heir of the Minamoto Clan as he tries to prevent war, and a Marine Corps pilot as he crashes into Greek myths come back to life.
The Monster of Mordwin (The School of Spells & War #5) – Morgon Newquist
Alis was a quiet librarian at the campus library of the School of Spells & Magic – that is, until the sword wielding buffoon Cahan had the audacity to battle a dragon in her library! Now she’s following him off on some foolhardy adventure. As they try to save the university from the mysterious Formless, she fights an equally important battle – to maintain her self respect!
Now, as something ancient threatens Mordwin College, the headmistress summons the legendary duo Alis and Cahan to deal with a strange magical threat to her students. But what they find surprises them all!
The School of Spells & War is an ongoing collection of old fashioned sword-and-sorcery adventure stories following a wizard and warrior duo as they galavant across the continent of Thillon. Good-humored, powerful warrior Cahan and intelligent, skilled wizard Alis work together to serve their university, the school of spells and war, by battling dragons, investigating plots against the king, hunting witches, and dealing with the ongoing threat of the ancient and mysterious Formless.
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Moon and Star: The Complete First Saga – Mike Bergonzi
Kaito is the son of the Shogun, heir to the Minamoto clan, and future leader of Jakai. Or, at least, that’s what he’s been lead to believe. In truth, he’s the byproduct of his times.
War is coming.
A Feudal Lord is dead. The Minamoto clan can no longer standby while their enemies build alliances and craft weapons for a single purpose. Kaito must exchange comfort for the ability to stay alive after a bounty for his death forces him to leave home.
Accompanied by no one but his father’s childhood friend, Kaito ventures to his birthplace to try and prevent a war between the two parts of his life.
Past and present collide, morph into one.
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A Pius Legacy (The Pius Trilogy #2) – Declan Finn
The Pope Has Been Kidnapped!
Giovanni Figlia, head of Vatican security, doesn’t have an easy job cleaning up the mess that Sean A.P. Ryan left after stopping an international plot to bring down the Vatican. He’s got to deal with the remnants of old Soviet spy rings, a beautiful defector, and foreign agents of all stripes.
Then someone kidnapped the Pope.
Mercenaries, spies, beautiful women, international intrigue and ancient secrets – The Pius Trilogy has it all!
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Necromancer (Seven Fold Sword #4) – Jonathan Moeller
The quest of the Seven Swords has put terrible power in the hands of madmen.
Ridmark Arban is the Shield Knight, but he is the only Swordbearer in the realm of Owyllain.
That means he is the only warrior capable of defending Owyllain from the forces of dark magic.
The Necromancer of Trojas wields the Sword of Death, and with it he has summoned a vast host of the undead. Unless Ridmark Arban can stop him, the undead horde will conquer all the realm of Owyllain.
But the city of Trojas holds other secrets.
And one of those secrets might kill Ridmark and destroy Owyllain…
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War God’s Mantle: Ascension (War God Saga #1) – James Hunter and Aaron Crash
When Marine Corps pilot Jacob Merely crashes during a routine mission off the coast of Cyprus, he was sure it was game over.
After surviving the crash and pulling himself onto the sandy shores of a long-abandoned island, however, Jacob unwittingly stumbles headfirst into the ancient ruins of a dead city. Unfortunately, he also stumbles into an age-old battle between good and evil—and he is now its newest recruit.
The island once belonged to the Amazons, daughters of Ares, the God of War, and stood as the final bastion between the human world and the monstrosities of the Great Below. But Jacob’s arrival has awakened the old gods and disturbed the seal holding the ravaging darkness at bay.
Now, with the help of a sacred gem containing Ares’ power, Jacob must recreate the Amazonian defenders of humanity and fortify the island stronghold. And if he fails, Hades will unleash his army of the damned and the world of men will fall, giving rise to an age of walking nightmares.
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Wasting (The Book of Maladies #1) – D. K. Holmberg
In the city of Verdholm, canals separate the highborns in the center sections of the city from the lowborns along the outer sections. The city is isolated, surrounded by a deadly swamp and steam fields which should protect the people of the city from the dangerous outside world. Until it doesn’t.
For Sam, an orphaned thief who wants only to protect her brother, protection means stealing enough so she can one day buy her way into a better section. She’s a skilled thief, and when she’s offered a job that can change everything for her, what choice does she have but to take it?
Alec is an apothecary who longed to join the prestigious university and become a physicker, but they rarely accept students from the merchant class, and he’s now too old to enroll. The surprising discovery of strange magic can change his fortunes, but only if he can fully understand it.
When the natural protection of the city fails and her brother is thrown into danger, Sam must become more than a thief to save him, but she can’t do so by herself. Somehow, she and Alec are linked through an ancient magic and together they might be the only ones able to stop an attack that threatens to disrupt the balance within the city and bring the dangers of the outside world to them.
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When It Falls (The Valens Legacy #5) – Jan Stryvant
After having their success against the Ascendants used by the Vestibulum as a cover for the mass murder of their old enemies, Sean has discovered that the Vesti’s are far more ruthless and dangerous than the previous two councils he’s fought. After two hundred years of holding on to the leadership position among all of the councils, obviously the Vestibulum isn’t going to give up anything to anyone.
While Sean promised not to start a war, it’s looking more and more like that choice isn’t going to be his to make. Especially when the other Ascendant chapters come calling to avenge their dead. Thankfully for Sean, he has witnesses to just what happened, witnesses that will hopefully keep all the other councils from rallying against him. But now will they instead rally against the Vestibulum instead? That could be just as bad for him.
Then there are the people that Sean saved from the Ascendants during the raid, all of whom he’s responsible for, and for now has to provide with a place to live as well as protections from the magic of their former masters. Then there are the four dark elves that were freed during the raid, two of which are now very interested in Sean and one of which isn’t at all afraid to let him know, constantly.
And just how do you go about introducing your mother to your (several) wives when she shows up in a few days?
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The Journal and The Stone – Matthew Taylor
Curiosity killed the cat. Or so the saying goes … all Klane can hope is that curiosity doesn’t also kill gnomes.
Klane is an uncharacteristically adventurous gnome, who’s been smitten with the urge to explore places of the world few people–let alone hill gnomes–would dare to go. Since he was able, he has sailed down the Amethyst River and her many tributaries to satisfy his wanderlust. When Klane finds himself in the bowels of an abandoned mine holding a valuable stone and a dead miner’s journal, he knows his days of lighthearted adventure are over.
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