The people are tinder waiting to spark. His homeland smolders on the edge of chaos. Can he ignite a revolution? The Iron Empire is soft, rotten, and ripe for change. The guilds are repressive. The price of dragon products is soaring. The mage menace spreads unchecked. Resentment builds. One day, a young hero clanks into the capital with a metal foot . . . swearing he'll kick the imperial palace to rubble. Devin, more artifice than mage with his mechanical limb, returns to the empire, his nemesis Captain Vice in hot pursuit. The firebrand mage stirs the passions of imperial citizens under the guise of dragon conservation. We are all like slabs of dragon flesh: once powerful and mighty, but the empire bleeds us until nothing remains but bones and ruptured organs. The message resonates. A rebellion is born in secrecy and treachery. Beneath their cloaks of lies and shifting alliances, mages, gentry, and commoners alike reach for the mantle of the butchered dragon while Captain Vice's steel fist slowly closes around them. Rise up and smash the state in Book Three of The Artifice Mage Saga. Join the fantasy steampunk brawl of metal vs. magic where sorcery is bloody, science is greasy, and nobody's hands are clean. epic, gaslamp, swords and sorcery, wizard, magic, dragons, steampunk, evil empire

HOW DO YOU WANT TO DO THIS? A war brews on a continent that has withstood more than its fair share of conflict. The Dwendalian Empire and the Kryn Dynasty are carving up the lands around them, and only the greatest heroes would dare stand between them. Somewhere in the far corners of this war-torn landscape are secrets that could end this conflict and usher in a new age of peace—or burn the world to a cinder. Create a band of heroes and embark on a journey across the continent of Wildemount, the setting for Campaign 2 of the hit Dungeons & Dragons series Critical Role. Within this book, you’ll find new character options, a heroic chronicle to help you craft your character’s backstory, four different starting adventures, and everything a Dungeon Master needs to breathe life into a Wildemount-based D&D campaign… · Delve through the first Dungeons & Dragons book to let players experience the game as played within the world of Critical Role, the world’s most popular livestreaming D&D show. · Uncover a trove of options usable in any D&D game, featuring subclasses, spells, magic items, monsters, and more, rooted in the adventures of Exandria—such as Vestiges of Divergence and the possibility manipulating magic of Dunamancy. · Start a Dungeons & Dragons campaign in any of Wildemount’s regions using a variety of introductory adventures, dozens of regional plot seeds, and the heroic chronicle system—a way to create character backstories rooted in Wildemount. Explore every corner of Wildemount and discover mysteries revealed for the first time by Critical Role Dungeon Master, Matthew Mercer.

Book 3 of The Chained Adept. CHAINS WITHOUT WIZARDS AND A RISING COUNT OF THE DEAD. The largest city in the world has just discovered its missing wizards. It seems the Kigali empire has ignited a panic that threatens internal ruin and the only chained wizard it knows that’s still alive is Penrys. The living wizards and the dead are not her people, not unless she makes them so. All they have in common is a heavy chain and a dead past -- the lives that were stolen from them are beyond recall. What remains are unanswered questions about who made them this way. And why. And what Penrys plans to do to find out.

Even before our heroes discovered a portal to other realms, Jak Freedar wanted to seek out powerful allies to help overthrow the tyrannical wizard rulers of his home world. Instead, he chanced across a dragon egg and is now the surrogate father of a hatchling. Since he found the egg, taking care of the young dragon is his responsibility. Even as King Uthari forces the team to prepare for another mission, Jak must do his best not only to care for the hatchling but to keep it safe from those who want to use it for their own gain. As he soon learns, it’s not only the wizards of his own world who would love to control a dragon. It turns out that powerful enemies in other realms want a hatchling too. And they’re willing to kill for it.

Enjoy this twisted fairy tale retelling by USA Today bestselling author Nicole Zoltack where Dorothy is not at all welcome in Oz. Dorinda is a storm that threatens all of Oz, whose only hope is the Witch of the West, Minerva. Years ago, Minerva sent Dorinda away, hoping that a magical prophecy of Dorinda destroying Oz would never come to fruition. When the girl returns with murder on her mind, Minerva knows she has made a terrible mistake. One by one, Dorinda strips Minerva’s allies of their strength. She turns the King of the Lions into a pusillanimous lion. The emperor of an allied kingdom is now a straw effigy, the woodsman’s body now made of tin. Is the prophecy doomed to pass after all? Will the wizard of Oz aid Minerva or Dorinda? Of Witches and Wizards also includes the short stories The Cost of War and The Cost of Peace. KEYWORDS: Wizard of Oz, Dorothy, fairytale fantasy, fantasy romance, romantic fantasy, slow burn romance, supernatural powers, magic, come into powers, dark fantasy romance, clean fantasy, king, prince, royal, historical fantasy, Free Royal, Raven Kennedy, Kelly St. Clare, Caroline Peckham, Susanne Valenti, C.N Crawford, Elise Kova, Robin D. Mahle, Elle Madison, D.K. Holmberg, Cordelia Castel, Kay L Moody, Alisha Klaphe

Trouble with a Vengeance… In her seventh year as a magical Protector, Cary Redmond has faced down more world-ending, life-or-death situations than she cares to remember. And now that she’s discovered she’s not as ordinary as she thought, finding ways to not die is getting even tougher. Especially with all the enemies she’s collected while saving good guys from bad guys. So when her latest job forces her to confront too many of these old enemies, Cary desperately wants to refuse. Unfortunately, walking away is not an option, thanks to more of that world-ending trouble so common in her life. With the help of her leopard shifter mate, Cary once again faces overwhelming odds in a quest to save the world. And hopefully not die. keywords: Urban fantasy romance; urban fantasy; paranormal romance; dark fantasy; horror fantasy; series paranormal romance; shapeshifter romance; witches and wizards; werewolves and shifters; vampire paranormal; demons and devils; series urban fantasy; paranormal shifters; magic and mayhem

Informed by a perceptive spell caster that gaps within the currents of magic reveal an ominous threat, Ryson Acumen begins his search for an individual capable of seizing magical influence. As the delver explores the forest of Dark Spruce, he discovers a curious trail of elves and dark creatures. He faces a perplexing wave of magical disturbances which encourage him to continue his pursuit even as they present challenging obstacles to overcome. While he remains on the trail, Ryson faces the convergence of another threat. In Demonsheol, Rul Saattan allows a human wizard to shape events within the demon breeding grounds. In an attempt to topple the forces of destiny, the demon lord unleashes the chaos of free will across his domain, and the structures of fate begin to tremble at the prospect. Though barriers around the realm restrict Rul's influence, they cannot contain the desires of a frustrated wizard intent on destroying the delver. When Ryson ultimately confronts both the demon lord and the wizard, he faces more than a test of faith. He is forced to consider the potentially conflicting roles of choice and destiny. The delver cannot dismiss the mysteries placed into his consciousness, but uncovering the answers threatens to leave him broken and vulnerable to the influence of the demon lord

Although rule breaking in Harry Potter is sometimes dismissed as a distraction from Harry’s fight against Lord Voldemort, Harry Potter and Resistance makes the case that it is central to the battle against evil. Far beyond youthful hijinks or adolescent defiance, Harry’s rebellion aims to overcome problems deeper and more widespread than a single malevolent wizard. Harry and his allies engage in a resistance movement against the corruption of the Ministry of Magic as well as against the racist social norms that gave rise to Voldemort in the first place. Dumbledore’s Army and the Order of the Phoenix employ methods echoing those utilized by World War II resistance fighters and by the U.S. Civil Rights movement. The aim of this book is to explore issues that speak to our era of heightened political awareness and resistance to intolerance. Its interdisciplinary approach draws on political science, psychology, philosophy, history, race studies, and women’s studies, as well as newer interdisciplinary fields such as resistance studies, disgust studies, and creativity studies.

An all-star urban fantasy collection featuring short stories from #1 New York Times bestselling authors Jim Butcher, Patricia Briggs, Charlaine Harris, Kelley Armstrong, and more . . . In this short story collection of courage, adventure, and magic, heroes—ordinary people who do the right thing—bravely step forward. But running toward danger might cost them everything. . . . In #1 New York Times bestselling author Jim Butcher’s “Little Things,” the pixie Toot-Toot discovers an invader unbeknownst to the wizard Harry Dresden . . . and in order to defeat it, he’ll have to team up with the dread cat Mister. In #1 New York Times bestselling author Patricia Briggs’s “Dating Terrors,” the werewolf Asil finds an online date might just turn into something more—if she can escape the dark magic binding her. In #1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris’s “The Return of the Mage,” the Britlingen mercenaries will discover more than they’ve bargained for when they answer the call of a distress beacon on a strange and remote world. And in #1 New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong’s “Comfort Zone,” the necromancer Chloe Saunders and the werewolf Derek Souza are just trying to get through college. But they can’t refuse a ghost pleading for help. ALSO INCLUDES STORIES BY Annie Bellet * Anne Bishop * Jennifer Brozek * Kevin Hearne * Nancy Holder * Kerrie L. Hughes * Chloe Neill * R.R. Virdi

Named a 2023 Honour Book by the International Research Society for Children's Literature Contributions by Christina M. Chica, Kathryn Coto, Sarah Park Dahlen, Preethi Gorecki, Tolonda Henderson, Marcia Hernandez, Jackie C. Horne, Susan E. Howard, Peter C. Kunze, Florence Maätita, Sridevi Rao, Kallie Schell, Jennifer Patrice Sims, Paul Spickard, Lily Anne Welty Tamai, Ebony Elizabeth Thomas, Jasmine Wade, Karin E. Westman, and Charles D. Wilson Race matters in the fictional Wizarding World of the Harry Potter series as much as it does in the real world. As J. K. Rowling continues to reveal details about the world she created, a growing number of fans, scholars, readers, and publics are conflicted and concerned about how the original Wizarding World—quintessentially white and British—depicts diverse and multicultural identities, social subjectivities, and communities. Harry Potter and the Other: Race, Justice, and Difference in the Wizarding World is a timely anthology that examines, interrogates, and critiques representations of race and difference across various Harry Potter media, including books, films, and official websites, as well as online forums and the classroom. As the contributors to this volume demonstrate, a deeper reading of the series reveals multiple ruptures in popular understandings of the liberatory potential of the Potter series. Young people who are progressive, liberal, and empowered to question authority may have believed they were reading something radical as children and young teens, but increasingly they have raised alarms about the series’ depiction of peoples of color, cultural appropriation in worldbuilding, and the author’s antitrans statements in the media. Included essays examine the failed wizarding justice system, the counterproductive portrayal of Nagini as an Asian woman, the liberation of Dobby the elf, and more, adding meaningful contributions to existing scholarship on the Harry Potter series. As we approach the twenty-fifth anniversary of the publication of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Other provides a smorgasbord of insights into the way that race and difference have shaped this story, its world, its author, and the generations who have come of age during the era of the Wizarding World.