The fifth book in the Sword-Dancer saga continues the legendary adventures of Tiger and Del, magic wielders and skilled warriors In the three years since Tiger and Del’s fateful meeting, these mismatched companions have become true partners, their alliance forged by blood, magic, danger, adventure…and something more. Exiled from both the North and the South, the two have now set sail to search for Tiger’s homeland—but no journey is ever without complications for Tiger and Del. Shipwrecked, nearly drowned, abducted by pirates, bedeviled by magic, the Southron sword-dancer and the Northern sword-singer finally do arrive at their destination. But before the mystery of his origins can be solved, Tiger must face another truth about himself that may prove more dangerous than any sword-dance. His own personal brand of magic, long denied by Tiger, is manifesting. And because of its very uniqueness, Tigers awakening power may prove his undoing!

The sixth book in the Sword-Dancer saga continues the legendary adventures of Tiger and Del, magic wielders and skilled warriors The South had always been Tiger’s home. Left as an infant to die in the desert, his real origins were unknown. When he won his freedom from the tribe who enslaved him by slaying a deadly sandtiger, he joined the elite brotherhood of Southron sword-dancers, swearing a lifelong oath to abide by their code of honor. Del was a woman of the North. She had seen her family brutally murdered and her brother carried away to the South to be sold into slavery. Motivated by revenge, she studied with the greatest of Northern sword-masters and became the deadliest sword-singer in the North. Together these two legendary fighters had forged an unlikely partnership of equals, sharing adventures, danger, and eventually love. But when Tiger forfeited an important sword dance to rescue Del, he broke his sworn code of honor—and his sentence was death. Fugitives from both the North and the South, Tiger and Del flee to the distant island of Skandi. Tiger has been told he resembles the people who comes from this remote land, and now, Tiger seeks his true identity. But Skandi proves no safe haven. Abducted by priest-mages, altered in mind and body, Tiger is forced to acknowledge that he possesses his own special brand of magic. A personal magic that carries its own price: Tiger will only have ten or twelve more years to live. But as Tiger and Del struggle to escape, Tiger’s long-dormant power begins to manifest. He falls victim to visions he cannot dismiss, dreams of a dead woman luring him into the crystal sands of the Punja, the South’s deadliest desert. “Find me,” she bids him, “and take up the sword.” Initially, Tiger rebels, refusing the siren song of his dreams. But at last, helpless to deny the compulsion in his own blood, Tiger must accept his magic and his fate. Yet can he avoid paying the terrible price that they threaten to extract?

The third book in the Sword-Dancer saga continues the legendary adventures of Tiger and Del, magic wielders and skilled warriors Sword-sworn to track down the hounds of hoolies, yet inescapably haunted by his memories of Del, Tiger, now master of Northern and Southron sword skills, is relentlessly following the trail that will lead him to Ysaa-den. Yet before him wait perils far deadlier than any hounds. For in Ysaa-den, he is hailed as a champion come to stop the force that has been wreaking destruction upon the villagers, a force which many claim is a dragon of unimaginable strength. As the trail of hounds and “dragon” now seem intertwined, Tiger has no choice but to climb the mountain to the place known as Dragon’s Lair. And it is here that he comes face to face with a challenge that may prove beyond even the mastery of Northern and Southron sword magic—the challenge of Chosa Dei, a wizard out of legend with the power to unmake all that opposes him....

"So, that's how my life ends, what a waste of time it was...". These were the last thoughts of a young man, shot by accident in a fight between local gangs. Little did he know that he would soon wake up in another world, a world of cultivation! This is the story of the whoreson of a wealthy family, of a transmigrator that had no purpose in his previous life, of a demon that will make power his reason to keep on living. Noah Balvan, after he transmigrated, will have to fight against his social status and the many difficulties of the world he was reborn in to obtain the power to stand free in the sky above anyone!

The acclaimed author of Rubicon and other superb works of popular history now produces a thrillingly panoramic (and incredibly timely) account of the rise of Islam. No less significant than the collapse of the Roman Republic or the Persian invasion of Greece, the evolution of the Arab empire is one of the supreme narratives of ancient history, a story dazzlingly rich in drama, character, and achievement. Just like the Romans, the Arabs came from nowhere to carve out a stupefyingly vast dominion—except that they achieved their conquests not over the course of centuries as the Romans did but in a matter of decades. Just like the Greeks during the Persian wars, they overcame seemingly insuperable odds to emerge triumphant against the greatest empire of the day—not by standing on the defensive, however, but by hurling themselves against all who lay in their path.

Sword-Singer once again unites Del and Tiger--she among the greatest of Northern sword masters, he a Southron warrior of legendary skills--on a new and perilous journey into the North, to the Place of Swords, where Del must submit to trial-by-combat for the slaying of her sword-master.

"Aitcheson brings excitement and intrigue to a bloody period of medieval history—one that is underrepresented in the genre...[and] shows great promise as an adventure novelist in this colorful debut."—Publishers Weekly January, 1069: Less than three years after the Battle of Hastings, two thousand Normans march to subdue the troublesome province of Northumbria. Tancred a Dinant, a loyal and ambitious knight, is among them, hungry for battle, honor, silver, and land. But at Durham, the Normans are ambushed by English rebels, and Tancred's revered lord Robert de Commines is slain. Badly wounded and bitterly determined to exact vengeance, Tancred uncovers a plot that harks back to the day of Hastings itself. If successful, it threatens to destroy the entire conquest—and change the course of history. James Aitcheson's stunning debut sweeps readers into a ruthless world, where violent warriors seek honor in holy places and holy men seek glory in dark deeds. As the two opposing forces battle for conquest, the fate of England hangs in the balance. "A terrific writer...Aitcheson's portrayal of eleventh-century England is vibrant and authentic...Full of intrigue and vivid, realistic battles, this accomplished debut novel sets a high standard indeed."—Ben Kane, bestselling author of The Road to Rome

New epic fantasy in the grand tradition—including a never-before-published Song of Ice and Fire story by George R. R. Martin! Fantasy fiction has produced some of the most unforgettable heroes ever conjured onto the page: Robert E. Howard’s Conan the Barbarian, Michael Moorcock’s Elric of Melniboné, Fritz Leiber’s Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. Classic characters like these made sword and sorcery a storytelling sensation, a cornerstone of fantasy fiction—and an inspiration for a new generation of writers, spinning their own outsize tales of magic and swashbuckling adventure. Now, in The Book of Swords, acclaimed editor and bestselling author Gardner Dozois presents an all-new anthology of original epic tales by a stellar cast of award-winning modern masters—many of them set in their authors’ best-loved worlds. Join today’s finest tellers of fantastic tales, including George R. R. Martin, K. J. Parker, Robin Hobb, Scott Lynch, Ken Liu, C. J. Cherryh, Daniel Abraham, Lavie Tidhar, Ellen Kushner, and more on action-packed journeys into the outer realms of dark enchantment and intrepid derring-do, featuring a stunning assortment of fearless swordsmen and warrior women who face down danger and death at every turn with courage, cunning, and cold steel. FEATURING SIXTEEN ALL-NEW STORIES: “The Best Man Wins” by K. J. Parker “Her Father’s Sword” by Robin Hobb “The Hidden Girl” by Ken Liu “The Sword of Destiny” by Matthew Hughes “‘I Am a Handsome Man,’ Said Apollo Crow” by Kate Elliott “The Triumph of Virtue” by Walter Jon Williams “The Mocking Tower” by Daniel Abraham “Hrunting” by C. J. Cherryh “A Long, Cold Trail” by Garth Nix “When I Was a Highwayman” by Ellen Kushner “The Smoke of Gold Is Glory” by Scott Lynch “The Colgrid Conundrum” by Rich Larson “The King’s Evil” by Elizabeth Bear “Waterfalling” by Lavie Tidhar “The Sword Tyraste” by Cecelia Holland “The Sons of the Dragon” by George R. R. Martin And an introduction by Gardner Dozois “When fine writer and expert editor [Gardner] Dozois beckons, authors deliver—and this surely will be one of the year’s essential anthologies.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

For centuries the Warders' Circle on the neutral islands of Twaa-Fei has given the countries of the sky a way to avoid war, settling their disputes through formal, magical duels. But the Circle's ability to maintain peace is fading: the Mertikan Empire is preparing for conquest and the trade nation of Quloo is sinking, stripped of the aerstone that keeps both ships and island a-sky. When upstart Kris Denn tries to win their island a seat in the Warder’s Circle and colonial subject Oda no Michiko discovers that her conquered nation's past is not what she's been told, they upset the balance of power. The storm they bring will bind all the peoples of the sky together...or tear them apart. Named one of Den of Geek's Best Fiction Books of 2018 Praise for Born to the Blade: “...probably the coolest martial arts magic series in any genre since the original Avatar: The Last Airbender came out.” —Den of Geek contributor Alana Joli Abbott