“There is adventure and intrigue, swordplay and dark sorcery aplenty.”—Realms of Fantasy When the legendary Briar King awoke from his slumber, dark magics awoke with him and spread across the Kingdom of Crotheny. In Eslen, King William has been murdered, Queen Muriele is stalked by treachery from every side, and their last surviving daughter, Anne, has fled the assassins bent on destroying her family. The queen’s one trusted ally, young knight Neil MeqVren, is sworn to rescue the princess from her pursuers. As spies in the service of the powerful Churchman embark upon a mission to destroy the Briar King, a sinister conspiracy threatens to engulf the land. Personal fates will be decided, and a kingdom’s destiny will hinge upon the ultimate conflict between virtue and malevolence, might and magic. “Keyes’s world is rich, detailed, and always believable; the twisty plot is delightful and frightening in turns.”—Locus “Strong world building and superior storytelling.”—Library Journal

“A wonderful tale . . . It crackles with suspense and excitement from start to finish.”—Terry Brooks Two thousand years ago, the Born Queen defeated the Skasloi lords, freeing humans from the bitter yoke of slavery. But now monstrous creatures roam the land—and destinies become inextricably entangled in a drama of power and seduction. The king’s woodsman, a rebellious girl, a young priest, a roguish adventurer, and a young man made suddenly into a knight—all face malevolent forces that shake the foundations of the kingdom, even as the Briar King, legendary harbinger of death, awakens from his slumber. At the heart of this many-layered tale is Anne Dare, youngest daughter of the royal family . . . upon whom the fate of her world may depend. Praise for The Briar King “Starts off with a bang, spinning a snare of terse imagery and compelling characters that grips tightly and never lets up. . . . A graceful, artful tale from a master storyteller.”—Elizabeth Haydon, bestselling author of Prophecy: Child of Earth “The characters in The Briar King absolutely brim with life. . . . Keyes hooked me from the first page,and I’ll now be eagerly anticipating sitting down with each future volume of the Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone series.”—Charles de Lint, award-winning author of Forests of the Heartand The Onion Girl “A thrill ride to the end, with plenty of treachery, revelation, and even a few bombshell surprises.”—Monroe News-Star (LA)

The queen of Crotheny finds her kingdom's defense against bloodthirsty forest-dwelling creatures thwarted by a conspiracy within the church, a situation that is complicated when Anne Dare the heir to the throne, goes missing.

Fantasy-roman.

A rhyming retelling of the story of a young woman who finds her prince at a Halloween ball despite the efforts of her wicked stepmother. The main characters are skeletons.

A monumentally devastating plague leaves only a few survivors who, while experiencing dreams of a battle between good and evil, move toward an actual confrontation as they migrate to Boulder, Colorado.

A powerful new fantasy from Hugo award–winning author Elizabeth Bear, Range of Ghosts creates a world both deep and broad, where a sorcerer-prince seeks world domination for the glory of his God. Temur, grandson of the Great Khan, is walking from a battlefield where he was left for dead. All around lie the fallen armies of his cousin and his brother who made war to rule the Khaganate. Temur is now the legitimate heir by blood to his grandfather's throne, but he is not the strongest. Going into exile is the only way to survive his ruthless cousin. Once-Princess Samarkar is climbing the thousand steps of the Citadel of the Wizards of Tsarepheth. She was heir to the Rasan Empire until her father got a son on a new wife. Then she was sent to be the wife of a Prince in Song, but that marriage ended in battle and blood. Now she has renounced her worldly power to seek the magical power of the wizards. These two will come together to stand against the hidden cult that has so carefully brought all the empires of the Celadon Highway to strife and civil war through guile and deceit and sorcerous power. The Eternal Sky Trilogy #1 Range of Ghosts #2 Shattered Pillars #3 Steles of the Sky At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

“Gemmell’s great reading—the action never letsup. He’s several rungs above the good—right into the fabulous!”—Anne McCaffrey While the warlike and merciless Aenir wreak havoc upon the territory outside the mountain stronghold of the clans, Sigarni, the Hawk Queen, arrives in a parallel version of her own universe through a gate in space and time. Taliesen, last of the gatekeepers, has no idea why she has come. But he knows that heroes are needed and grants her passage into the ravaged land. Only Caswallon—loner, warrior, and thief—realizes the true extent of the danger and the mayhem that his people will come to face. As Taliesen tries to discover Sigarni’s purpose, Caswallon must attempt to unite the clans to overcome their greatest peril. “For anyone who appreciates super heroic fantasy, David Gemmell’s offerings are mandatory.”—Time Out London

In The Sounding of the Whale, D.

From two of the greatest imaginations of our time comes a magnificent novel of adventure and magic...SHADOW MOON: First in the Chronicles of the Shadow War. The genius of Star Wars(r) creator George Lucas and the vision of Chris Claremont, the author of the phenomenally bestselling The Uncanny X-Men adventures, merge in what must be the fantasy event of the year. In Shadow Moon, war and chaos have gripped the land of Tir Asleen. An ancient prophecy reveals one hope: a savior princess who will ascend to the throne when the time is right. But first, a Nelwyn wanderer must face forces of unimaginable malevolence and dangerous, forbidden rites of necromancy that could bring back a powerful warrior from soulless sleep. George Lucas reshaped filmmaking in the '70s and '80s with his Star Wars and Indiana Jones films. When Bantam Books asked Lucas if he had any stories he would like to develop as novels rather than as films, Lucas turned to his 1988 fantasy film, Willow. "When I wrote the story for Willow, I began with the pre-story," Lucas said, "but the full story was yet to be told." Now, Lucas's vision is being fulfilled with the talented help of Chris Claremont. Having previously taken the reins of what was for a decade the bestselling comic in the western hemisphere (The Uncanny X-Men) Claremont assumes the reponsibility of foster parent to Lucas's creation. On sale in hardcover now, and available on BDD Audio Cassette as well, SHADOW MOON is a momentous new adventure for readers looking to spend part of this summer in a fantastic world. SHADOW MOON is one of Bantam Spectra's most exciting publishing events in 1995, the year we celebrate our 10th Anniversary as the premiere publishing imprint of books of speculative fiction.