Showing results by narrator "Steven Brand" in All Categories

Mankind has lorded over the land of Illian for a thousand years, building on the ruins left by the elves, as if it were their birthright. A thousand years is a long time for an immortal race to see the truth of things, a truth that has remained unsaid for a millennium - elves are superior. They are faster, stronger, and connected to the magical realm in a way that man could never grasp. Illian should belong to them.

After the fall of the great Vandarian fortress of Dragon's Bane, Elyon Daecar gathers his army in the Lakelands to the north. They have suffered a great defeat. Heroes and friends have fallen. Yet, with the Windblade in his grasp, Elyon will not yield. From east to west and north to south, he will take the fight to the enemy and soar.

Orcs, an ancient fiend thought lost to history, have risen from The Under Realm. Their hunger for total dominance has plunged Illian into war, pushing the survivors to Namdhor, the last refuge of man at the top of the world. For those who stand up to this foe, they do so in darkness. Ash clouds smother the skies, blocking out the sun as the orcs rampage across the land.

Alijah's reign sweeps from Erador to Ayda. Those who would stand against the king are few, their numbers cast across too many battlefields. Does hope lie in the east? Can the elves turn the tide and keep The Rebellion alive? The weight of Dhenaheim now rests on Doran's shoulders. Chained and imprisoned, the clans are shattered and spread across the realm. On the island of Qamnaran, they build to the heavens. In the Moonlit Plains, they dig down into the dark. Only the Heavybellys have the mettle to do what must be done.

The Great Calamity has returned, destroying all in his wake. Reeling from the destruction of King's Point and the death of his uncle, Elyon Daecar makes at once for Varinar to discern the state of the city. What he finds gives him small cause for hope. Through the spreading darkness, thin shards of light remain. They must act quickly lest they close forever. Saska's time in Aram has run out. With the city safe from the coalition of Lords Krator and Kastor, she sets her sights on her journey north, bidding her dying grandmother farewell. She has no choice now but to embrace her fate.

The scales have tipped. The battle for Namdhor, the north, and the entire realm of man was a sure victory for the orcs. But they lost. Now, under the rule of a would-be-king, the armies of man fuel the war when they should be bolstering their defenses. Only a few understand that time is against them, yet these few must fight alone if the dawn is to rise over Illian once more. The heroes of the realm have banded together, but they cannot fight side by side. There is only one way they can win, seen by the oldest dragon and preserved inside the broken mind of a ranger.

In the heart of Vandar, as dark forces close in, Elyon, a gifted Bladeborn knight, fights for his family's survival in a world on the brink of war. In the beleaguered northlands of Tukor, a servant girl with a mysterious past is forced on the run by a treacherous lord, propelling her on a journey that will change her world forever. From the Shadowfort, an ancient power is unleashed, one that will set into motion a series of events that will bring the world to its knees.

It has unravelled across the ages, its web woven throughout millennia of chaos and blood. Now, all that was seen shall come to pass, and there is nothing the heroes of Verda can do to stop it. After years of planning and preparation, Alijah Galfrey is finally ready to change the world. He will break the scales of power across the realm, securing his victory and eternal reign. There is no line he will not cross; no sacrifice he will not make to bring peace to the land.

Times have changed for Alwyn Scribe. Once an outlaw, he's now a spymaster and sworn protector of Lady Evadine Courlain, whose visions of a demonic apocalypse have earned her the fanatical devotion of the faithful. Yet Evadine's growing fame has put her at odds with both Crown and Covenant. As trouble brews in the kingdom, both seek to exploit her position for their own ends. Sent to the Duchy of Alundia to put down a rebellion, Alwyn must rely on old instincts to fight for his new cause.

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.

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.

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.

The spectacular conclusion to the New York Times best-selling Raven's Shadow series, which began with the critically acclaimed Blood Song. Empires will fall. Queen Lyrna has survived the bloody siege of Alltor. Now she must rally her troops and take back the capital from the Volarian invaders. But driving her hated enemy out of the Realm will not satisfy her lust for vengeance - she wants to pursue them across the ocean and burn their empire to ashes. To do so she must place her faith in the Seventh Order.

The new star of British fantasy returns with The Waking Fire, book one of the Draconis Memoria series, a thrilling new epic fantasy of exploration and adventure, spies and assassins, explosive magic and the battle for empire. For decades the lands of the Ironship Syndicate have been defended by the 'blood blessed' - men and women able to channel the powers contained in the potent blood of wild drakes. Elite spies and assassins, their loyalty has established the Syndicate's position as the greatest power in the known world. Yet now a crisis looms.

The final days of hope have come and gone. The kingdoms of Illian stand on the edge of ruin, threatened by the armies of Valanis. As evil spreads across the land, too few are left to hold the line. A world away, the children of fire and flame may be the only hope for the realm, but the dragons have been defeated before. Now Verda's future hangs in the balance.

Legend. Myth. Nightfall has long been rumored to be nothing more than whispers on the breeze. If only it were so. In those halls of darkness, where children are taken from the world and given to shadow and dust, Asher is destined for that same fate. He will become the myth. He will become the legend. He will become the whisper of Death itself.

He stands between two worlds, a savior and a destroyer to both. Dragons and aegres will fall. But one can turn the tide. One who stands in the shadow of kings. Such has been seen by the doomed. The weight of ten thousand lives and all the realm besides now sits on Joran's shoulders. So much has already been sacrificed to bring him to the ancient doors of Drakanan, where he might take on the mantle of Dragon Rider and usher in a new age of heroes. But a time of dragons is not all that has been seen…

The north is at peace, secured by murder and betrayal and the plotting of treacherous kings. As half the northern nobility gather in Ilithor for the wedding of Princess Amilia Lukar and the traitorous King Hadrin, Elyon Daecar finds himself drawn into a plot he never expected. One that may see him soar.

Millennia in the dark has left these lost and forgotten monsters hungry for war. The people of Illian can do nothing but rely on their peacekeepers, the Dragorn. Are the dragon riders ready for what has been buried under their feet? Gideon Thorn, Master of the Dragorn, can feel the Third Age coming to an ominous end. With Inara Galfrey and her dragon by his side, they must investigate the return of this ancient evil.

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.