The Wizard of Zao is a fantasy novel by Lin Carter, first published in 1978. The story is set in a mythical world and follows the adventures of a wizard named Zao and his companions. Zao embarks on a quest involving ancient powers and mystical realms, with Carter's signature blend of humor and adventure.The book is part of Carter's larger body of work known for drawing inspiration from classic fantasy tropes and his homage to authors like Robert E. Howard, J.R.R. Tolkien, ...

Assassin priests, mad kings, and the goddess of death collide in the first book of the Dreamblood Duology by NYT bestselling and three time Hugo-Award winning author N. K. Jemisin.The city burned beneath the Dreaming Moon.In the ancient city-state of Gujaareh, peace is the only law. Upon its rooftops and amongst the shadows of its cobbled streets wait the Gatherers -- the keepers of this peace. Priests of the dream-goddess, their duty is to harvest...

The Hugo and Nebula Award–winning series of swords and sorcery, featuring two unorthodox heroes, from a Grand Master of Science Fiction and Fantasy.Many decades before George R. R. Martin's Game of Thrones, Grand Master Fritz Leiber ruled the sword-and-sorcery universe. These three short story collections chronicle the unconventional adventures of Leiber's endearing antiheroes: barbarian Fafhrd and former wizard's apprentice, the Gray Mouser.Sw...

The War of the Spider Queen begins here.While their whole world is changing around them, four dark elves struggle against different enemies. Yet their paths will lead them all to the most terrifying discovery in the long history of the drow and set them on a quest to save not only Menzoberranzan but the entire dark elf race from Dissolution...

The world on the other side of the rift: Kelewan, a land seething with political intrigue and deadly conspiracies. Following the opulent panoply of Daughter Of The Empire and the dazzling pageantry of Servant Of The Empire comes the resounding conclusion to the Empire trilogy.Besieged by spies and rival houses, stalked by a secret and merciless brotherhood of assassins, the brilliant Lady Mara of the Acoma faces the most deadly challenge she has ever known. The fe...

Experience "a bold and daring experiment in fantasy storytelling" with the first three books in the bestselling Thieves' World® series ( Fantasy-Faction ).Created by the New York Times–bestselling author of the Myth series, as well as the Phule's Company series, Thieves' World® brings together classic fantasy's finest authors to flesh out the shared world with their own unforgettable characters and epic worldbuild...

The Aurora Award–winning author of the Man of His Word novels returns to the magical realm of Pandemia with this high fantasy series.In these four epic novels of sword and sorcery, discord rages throughout the land of Pandemia and the rightful rulers fight an unjust imperor.The Cutting Edge: For fifteen years, Queen Inos and King Rap have ruled Krasnegar peacefully, but now darkness encroaches. When a royal family grows tyrannical and armies wage wa...

A classic fantasy series, Thieves' World® pioneered shared-world anthologies with epic worldbuilding, unforgettable characters, and nonstop action.Missing Game of Thrones ? Dare to "be pulled into political intrigues, watch new gods replace old, and witness fortunes rise and fall and rise again" ( Book Riot ).The series's groundbreaking debut features sto...

A classic sword and sorcery novel featuring the Hugo and Nebula Award–winning Grand Master of Science Fiction's unorthodox and unpredictable antiheroes.The Swords of Lankhmar finds the city characteristically plagued by rats. Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser are in the employ of Glipkerio, the overlord, to guard a grain ship on its journey. Along the way, the rats onboard stage a rebellion and threaten to take the ship until a two-headed sea monster saves the da...

After pitched battle, betrayal, and escape, Kaia Steelflower has enough gold to feed her troupe of outcasts through the winter. She can settle them in a small villa in Antai, that queen of maritime cities, and look forward to welcome boredom.Unfortunately, there's a pirate-infested sea to cross, her difficult new talents to corral, her traveling companions' problems to solve, a princeling's attentions to manage, and once in Antai, people keep trying to kill her. Or, more precisely,...

VALKERIS—MOST ANCIENT OF CITIES AND SEAT OF THE FALLEN EMPIRE THAT ONCE RULED THE VASTNESS OF THE FIVE SEAS. HERE THE INFERNUS GATE WILL RISE AND UNLEASH DESTRUCTION UPON THE WORLD, UNLESS THE BEARERS OF THE DEMON CURSED BLADES CAN STOP IT…Guyime, undying bearer of the Nameless Blade, leads his band of misfit heroes into the dark, haunted ruins beneath ancient Valkeris. There they must survive the deadly traps set for them by the arch demon Kalthraxis as he races to open the Infern...

A swashbuckling story collection in the genre-defining sword-and-sorcery series from the Hugo and Nebula Award–winning Grand Master of Science Fiction.Fafhrd and Mouse are not innocents; their world is no land of honor and righteousness. It is a world of human complexities and violent action, of discovery and mystery, of swords and sorcery.With Swords Against Wizardry, the story unfolds behind the curtain "In the Witch's Tent". Fafhrd and Gray Mous...