His Majesty’s Dragon – Naomi Novik

From Publishers Weekly: In this delightful first novel, the opening salvo of a trilogy, Novik seamlessly blends fantasy into the history of the Napoleonic wars. Here be dragons, beasts that can speak and reason, bred for strength and speed and used for aerial support in battle. Each nation has its own breeds, but none are so…

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Scarlet – Stephen R. Lawhead

Amazon.com Blurb:  After losing everything he owns, forester Will Scarlet embarks on a search for none other than King Raven, whose exploits have already become legendary. After fulfilling his quest–and proving himself a skilled and loyal companion–Will joins the heroic archer and his men. Now, however, Will is in prison for a crime he did…

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The Darkness That Comes Before – R. Scott Bakker

Publishers Weekly Review:  Canadian author Bakker’s impressive, challenging debut, the first of a trilogy, should please those weary of formulaic epic fantasy. Bakker’s utterly foreign world, Eärwa, is as complex as that of Tolkien, to whom he is, arguably, a worthier successor than such established names as David Eddings and Stephen Donaldson. Bakker creates an…

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Beyond the Shadows – Brent Weeks

Cover blurb: Logan Gyre is king of Cenaria, a country under siege, with a threadbare army and little hope. He has one chance – a desperate gamble, but one that could destroy his kingdom. In the north, the new Godking has a plan. If it comes to fruition, no one will have the power to…

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Hood – Stephen Lawhead

From Publishers Weekly: Lawhead (Byzantium), known for his historical and fantasy fiction, reimagines the tale of Robin Hood in his latest novel, the first in the King Raven Trilogy. Based on detailed research, Lawhead places the folk hero (whom he names Bran) in Wales in 1093, at a time when the land was under constant…

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Ilium – Dan Simmons

From Publishers Weekly: Many centuries in the future, Earth’s small, more or less human population lives an enjoyable, if drone-like existence. Elsewhere, on some alternate Earth, or perhaps it’s the distant past, the battle for Troy is in its ninth year. Oddly, its combatants, Hector, Achilles and the rest, seem to be following a script,…

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There Will Be Dragons – John Ringo

Amazon.com Product Description: In the future there is no want, no war, no disease nor ill-timed death. The world is a paradise-and then, in a moment, it ends. The council that controls the Net falls out and goes to war. Everywhere people who have never known a moment of want or pain are left wondering…

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Hidden Empire – Kevin J. Anderson

From Library Journal: An experiment in converting a gas giant into a star with the potential for transforming the former planet’s moons into environments suitable for human colonies awakens a heretofore hidden civilization and plunges the galaxy into a war for the survival of humanity. The latest novel by the author of Star Wars: Darksaber…

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American Gods – Niel Gaiman

Publishers Weekly: Titans clash, but with more fuss than fury in this fantasy demi-epic from the author of Neverwhere. The intriguing premise of Gaiman’s tale is that the gods of European yore, who came to North America with their immigrant believers, are squaring off for a rumble with new indigenous deities: “gods of credit card…

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King’s Dragon – Kate Elliott

For what started out as a fairly standard entrence into an epic fantasy series, I was quickly surprised. The plot starts out with strife in the land. The king and his sister are battling over succession. Interspersed in this is the story of two main characters who each have hidden pasts that neither knows about…

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