Showing results by narrator "Steven Brand" in All Categories

Here is today's lesson; heroes die. It’s been 15 years since the Orcs were defeated. Fifteen years since a new king rose from the battlefield. Fifteen years since Illian knew the horror of war. Fifteen years of peace are about to end. Something is coming. Shadows gather. Whispers of rebellion have reached the king. Darkness stirs beyond Illian’s borders. Beyond the mountains, Dhenaheim has lost a quiet war. Refugees pour into Illian, bringing suspicion and unrest. For Doran Heavybelly, Dhenaheim's war means facing a personal tragedy that demands his attention...and his axe.

War rages in the north. As the Varin Knights march to join Tukor in their conflict against Rasalan, Elyon Daecar finds himself embroiled in a world of secrets and lies. Saska has one goal: to assassinate Lord Kastor. Posing as a captured servant girl, she infiltrates the Kastor warcamp to face her demons, but before long finds herself hopelessly out of her depth. Enemies close in, old and new…and history has a habit of repeating itself.

Ben Stiger, legate of the lost Thirteenth Legion, a nobleman from an infamous family, and a born fighter, has defeated the enemy army before Lorium and raised the siege of the city. Having been named emperor, Stiger has traveled to Mal’Zeel and claimed his throne by force, spilling blood in the process and removing those who would steal his right to the Curule Chair. Stiger is now unquestionably the emperor, the last man standing. Or is he?

Nobleman and born soldier Ben Stiger never backs down from a fight. Even as the son of an infamous imperial general, an outcast from society, he refuses to crumble under the unforgiving shadow of his once-powerful family’s disgrace. When he’s reassigned from his crack company to the struggling southern army, he’s eager to help turn the tide against a growing deadly rebellion. 

We have fought battles that left more than a hundred corpses on the ground and not a word of it has ever been set down. The Order fights, but often it fights in shadow, without glory or reward. We have no banners. Vaelin Al Sorna is the Sixth Order's newest recruit. Under their brutal training regime, he learns how to forge a blade, survive the wilds and kill a man quickly and quietly - all in the name of protecting the Realm and the Faith. Now his skills will be put to the test.

Ben Stiger, Legate of the Lost Thirteenth Legion, a nobleman from an infamous family and born fighter, has defeated the servants of the evil god Castor and crushed the dark deity's orc-led army. Having repaired the damage wrought by Castor and fixed the timeline, Stiger has returned to the present, bringing with him the entire Thirteenth Legion and her auxiliary cohorts.

The realm burns. Vaelin Al Sorna is tired of war. He's fought countless battles in service to the Realm and Faith. His reward was the loss of his love, the death of his friends and a betrayal by his king. After five years in an Alpiran dungeon, he just wants to go home. Reva intends to welcome Vaelin back with a knife between the ribs. He destroyed her family and ruined her life.

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.

Dragons Riders: The last noble warriors in the realm. Only heroes can embolden the ordinary. For centuries, millennia, the Dragon Riders galvanized generation after generation, adding Riders to their ranks and birthing dragons from their eggs. But there are no more heroes. War with the Andarens is like nothing the Riders, nor the armies of Erador, have ever faced. In the place of heroes, there are only soldiers now. Fodder for the machine of war. This time of twilight is set to be the crowning hour of the dark when the light is losing its grip.

It's been a long journey for Alwyn Scribe. Born a bastard and raised an outlaw, he's now a knight and the most trusted advisor to Lady Evadine Courlain. Together they've won countless battles and helped to bring order to a fractured kingdom.

The Steel Horde has laid waste to the Venerable Kingdom, unleashing a storm of fire and blood. Now the leader of this mighty host - Kehlbrand, the warlord who thinks himself a god - turns his eyes to the other merchant kingdoms. No one can stop his divine conquest. No one, perhaps, except Vaelin Al Sorna. Yet Vaelin is on the run, his own army in disarray. Worse, the new blood song he has acquired is as much a curse as a blessing and seeks to guide him down a path far darker than he could have imagined.... 

Badly outnumbered, facing certain destruction, and cut off from supply, the Imperial Roman Ninth Legion Hispana is in a desperate position. Surrounded by the hostile Celtic army, Senior Centurion Lucious Grackus Lisidus Karus must lead his men to safety after unexpectedly finding himself thrust into command of the legion.

The most accomplished mountain runner of all time contemplates his record-breaking climb of Mount Everest in this profound and free-flowing memoir - an intellectual and spiritual journey that moves from the earth’s highest peak to the soul’s deepest reaches. What drives a person to the edge of one of the most difficult and revered mountains in the world? How much is one willing to sacrifice and suffer to pursue an authentic and bold life? 

The When Swords Fall Silent anthology showcases the imaginations and talents of more than a dozen of the best modern science-fiction and fantasy authors, with each tale centered around one or more characters burdened with a bloody task they will see to completion no matter the cost. Every story takes you for a vicious ride through a world of shadow and death, each as unique in perspective and execution as the contracts carried out within.

A nobleman from an infamous family, imperial legionary officer, and born fighter, Ben Stiger is trapped in the past and cut off from everything he has known. The World Gate is sealed behind him, and Delvaris, the man he traveled through time to save, is dead. With this great man’s death, the future has been altered by the evil god Castor. Stiger has lost his purpose. For the first time in a great long while, no one needs saving, and no one needs killing. Cast adrift in a time not his own, Stiger believes his time as a leader of men is at an end. But the gods are not done with him yet.

Rangers aren’t born, they’re forged. Never has this been more true for Asher, who must train a new ranger…or be the one to hunt him down. Surviving an encounter with a Werewolf has changed Russell Maybury’s life forever. If he is to salvage anything, he must craft a new life using his abilities to do good. Should he stray, he will answer to Asher.

The dragonslayer Bershad and Queen Ashlyn are facing the greatest challenge of their lives. Branded the Witch Queen and driven from her kingdom, Ashlyn flees to her mother’s people. Yet she won’t be beaten, resolving to master magical feats long thought impossible. But this could have unforeseen consequences. Meanwhile, Bershad has learnt why he seems invincible – and that he’s living on borrowed time. However, he remains determined to help Ashlyn regain her throne. 

Ben Stiger, Legate of the Lost Thirteenth Legion, a nobleman from an infamous family, and born fighter, has defeated the enemy army before Lorium and raised the siege of the city. Mortally wounded and dying, the emperor has made Stiger his heir, but in name only. The senate and the church must confirm and anoint him. Will they want a Stiger on the throne? Or will they choose someone else? Hundreds of miles away, the Cyphan Confederacy’s armies are marching along the coast, moving inexorably toward the capital, leaving a swath of destruction in their wake.

A nobleman from an infamous family, an imperial legionary officer, and a born fighter, Captain Ben Stiger has successfully thwarted the attack from an army of the Cyphan Confederacy. Now Stiger, his men, and his new dwarven allies have fallen back behind the great walls of Castle Vrell. Stiger finds himself named Legate of the Vanished, the long-lost 13th Legion. This title and his own word binds him to the terms of the Compact, an ancient and mystical alliance formed nearly 2,000 years before.

Sevenfold Sword, Part VI includes books 11 and 12 of the series. The quest of the Seven Swords nears its end, and dark powers rise to seize the world. Ridmark Arban has learned the terrible secret at the heart of the Seven Swords. Now he need only escape Urd Maelwyn, the grim city ruled by the dark elven tyrant known as the Confessor. But few who enter Urd Maelwyn ever leave alive. And the Maledicti priests will kill to protect the secret of the Seven Swords.