I am a person with nearly unlimited curiosity who has been telling stories since I was small. There is literally almost no topic I have not read or inquired about, and fantasy is where curiosity has fueled my imagination. Learning, exploring, and sharing what I discover are my passion so I hope you will enjoy my first publicly shared story.
This book combined the old west with a very thought-out magic system that enhanced the setting. The humor was sometimes tear-drawingly funny for me. The characters seemed alive, complex, and independent. The world seemed real and tangible if not quite like our world. The magic also had a refreshing take and allows for infinite speculation on how the powers might cross-combine. It also had moments of monumental exercises of power as well as monumental limits on powers complicating the storyline.
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson, the Mistborn series is a heist story of political intrigue and magical, martial-arts action.
Three hundred years after the events of the Mistborn trilogy, Scadrial is now on the verge of modernity, with railroads to supplement the canals, electric lighting in the streets and the homes of the wealthy, and the first steel-framed skyscrapers racing for the clouds.
Kelsier, Vin, Elend, Sazed, Spook, and the rest are now part of history—or religion. Yet even as science and technology are reaching new heights, the old magics of Allomancy and Feruchemy continue to…
Again the magic system is very comprehensible with the interplay between order and chaos being the foundation. The development of the main character Beltur as he discovers his relationship to and talent with the interplay of order and chaos magic which is the foundation of how the world works. This book is also grounded in economics and presents deep currents of bigotry and intolerance that must be dealt with in a preindustrial society operating with almost medieval technology, warfare, and gender attitudes. It also addresses how a mage might earn a living in this society where order and chaos magic are a reality while needing to be aware of the limits and energy required to practice the magic without killing themselves. It also addresses some of the very real consequences of war and how magic might be used there as well.
L. E. Modesitt, Jr. returns to his longest and bestselling fantasy series with volume nineteen, The Mongrel Mage, which marks the beginning of a new story arc.
USA Today Bestseller List Locus Bestseller List
In the world of Recluce, powerful mages can wield two kinds of magic—the white of Chaos or the black of Order. Beltur, however, has talents no one dreamed of, talents not seen in hundreds of years that blend both magics.
On the run from a power hungry white mage, Beltur is taken in by Order mages who set him on the path to discover and hone…
This book introduces you to an alternate version of early US history where everyone has some degree of magic that they call knacks. It goes into detail about the main character beginning to discover his own knack which because he is a seventh son of a seventh son is particularly potent. Because of his potential he is faced with supernatural opposition to either pervert his knack or to destroy him. It is full of ethical and moral dilemmas for him and those he interacts with. It also emphasizes how interdependent people are, even people as powerful as the main character who has the potential to destroy or remake the world through his knack and whose very existence depends on a little girl miles away who can see peoples heart fires acting to save his life from supernatural threats by triggering his own knack with his left-over caul. What really drew me through this book were the moral and ethical choices that the boy needed to make as he matured in mind, body, and talent as well as the potential consequences to himself and the world as he made them.
I found the foundation of the magic to be interesting, where magic existed as additive or subtractive in various degrees and combinations. Most wizardly magic was either or, while some like Confessors and Mord Sith incorporated a combination of both. In addition the author introduces the first of a set of rules about how to use magic which plays an integral part in the story. I also liked the ethical and moral tension inherent in the story, though I will warn anyone I recommend this book to that it is very graphic and like the magic the ethics and morals are very binary. The depictions of scenery were also very engaging though at times seemed repetitive and long-winded. Something else I enjoyed was the development and revelation of the characters' abilities as well as their limitations and the attempt to show innovation in their abilities as a result. For me it showed a refreshing take on how fantasy can be presented in a new light.
A beloved fantasy classic and the beginning of one of the most breathtaking adventure stories of all time
One man, Richard Cypher, holds the key to the fate of three nations and of humanity. But until he learns the Wizard's First Rule his chances of succeeding in his task are slim. And his biggest problem is admitting that magic exists at all ...
A novel of incomparable scope and brimming with atmospheric detail: in a world where heart hounds stalk the boundaries for unwary human prey, blood-sucking flies hunt on behalf of their underworld masters, and where artists can draw…
In my opinion no fantasy list is complete without something from Tolkien. Though not the first fantasy book I ever read, that would be The Wizard of Oz, at the time it opened to me a world where even the little guy matters more than anyone can know. The magic in general was more mundane and accomplished through little acts of courage in most cases with moments of bright fireworks. It was the team, the comradery, and the relationships that mattered to pull the characters through their challenges and even one person could tip the balance in the end. Since I am fascinated with shape changers having Beorn the Werebear shift the balance of the battle of the five armies really thrilled me, and he was only there because they cultivated a relationship with him just like Gandalf cultivated his relationship with the Giant Eagles. If you can’t tell this book had a powerful and lasting impact on my teen self when I read it and keeps giving back as I reflect on it.
Special collector's film tie-in hardback of the best-selling classic, featuring the complete story with a sumptuous cover design inspired by THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY and brand new reproductions of all the drawings and maps by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely travelling further than the pantry of his hobbit-hole in Bag End.
But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard, Gandalf, and a company of thirteen dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day to whisk him away on an unexpected journey 'there and back again'. They have a plot to raid…
After the Magic council unleashed the Demon Plague the developing survivors become both the greatest hope and greatest threat to the world. Which will it be, and who will determine the result?
Tap Dancing on Everest, part coming-of-age memoir, part true-survival adventure story, is about a young medical student, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor raised in N.Y.C., who battles self-doubt to serve as the doctor—and only woman—on a remote Everest climb in Tibet.
The team attempts a new route up the East Face without the use of supplemental oxygen, Sherpa support, or chance for rescue. When three climbers disappear during their summit attempt, Zieman reaches the knife edge of her limits and digs deeply to fight for the climbers’ lives and to find her voice.
The plan was outrageous: A small team of four climbers would attempt a new route on the East Face of Mt. Everest, considered the most remote and dangerous side of the mountain, which had only been successfully climbed once before. Unlike the first large team, Mimi Zieman and her team would climb without using supplemental oxygen or porter support. While the unpredictable weather and high altitude of 29,035 feet make climbing Everest perilous in any condition, attempting a new route, with no idea of what obstacles lay ahead, was especially audacious. Team members were expected to push themselves to their…
