In Oathbringer, the third volume of the New York Times bestselling Stormlight Archive, humanity faces a new Desolation with the return of the Voidbringers, a foe with numbers as great as their thirst for vengeance.Dalinar Kholin's Alethi armies won a fleeting victory at a terrible cost: The enemy Parshendi summoned the violent Everstorm, which now sweeps the world with destruction, and in its passing awakens the once peaceful and subservient parshmen to the horror of their millennia-long enslavement by humans. While on a desperate flight to warn his family of the threat, Kaladin Stormblessed must come to grips with the fact that the newly kindled anger of the parshmen may be wholly justified.Nestled in the mountains high above the storms, in the tower city of Urithiru, Shallan Davar investigates the wonders of the ancient stronghold of the Knights Radiant and unearths dark secrets lurking in its depths. And Dalinar realizes that his holy mission to unite his homeland of Alethkar was too narrow in scope. Unless all the nations of Roshar can put aside Dalinar's blood-soaked past and stand together--and unless Dalinar himself can confront that past--even the restoration of the Knights Radiant will not prevent the end of civilization.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson, a special gift edition of Edgedancer, a short novel of the Stormlight Archive (previously published in Arcanum Unbounded).Three years ago, Lift asked a goddess to stop her from growing older--a wish she believed was granted. Now, in Edgedancer, the barely teenage nascent Knight Radiant finds that time stands still for no one. Although the young Azish emperor granted her safe haven from an executioner she knows only as Darkness, court life is suffocating the free-spirited Lift, who can't help heading to Yeddaw when she hears the relentless Darkness is there hunting people like her with budding powers. The downtrodden in Yeddaw have no champion, and Lift knows she must seize this awesome responsibility.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson, Words of Radiance, Book Two of the Stormlight Archive, continues the immersive fantasy epic that The Way of Kings began.Expected by his enemies to die the miserable death of a military slave, Kaladin survived to be given command of the royal bodyguards, a controversial first for a low-status "darkeyes." Now he must protect the king and Dalinar from every common peril as well as the distinctly uncommon threat of the Assassin, all while secretly struggling to master remarkable new powers that are somehow linked to his honorspren, Syl.The Assassin, Szeth, is active again, murdering rulers all over the world of Roshar, using his baffling powers to thwart every bodyguard and elude all pursuers. Among his prime targets is Highprince Dalinar, widely considered the power behind the Alethi throne. His leading role in the war would seem reason enough, but the Assassin's master has much deeper motives.Brilliant but troubled Shallan strives along a parallel path. Despite being broken in ways she refuses to acknowledge, she bears a terrible burden: to somehow prevent the return of the legendary Voidbringers and the civilization-ending Desolation that will follow. The secrets she needs can be found at the Shattered Plains, but just arriving there proves more difficult than she could have imagined.Meanwhile, at the heart of the Shattered Plains, the Parshendi are making an epochal decision. Hard pressed by years of Alethi attacks, their numbers ever shrinking, they are convinced by their war leader, Eshonai, to risk everything on a desperate gamble with the very supernatural forces they once fled. The possible consequences for Parshendi and humans alike, indeed, for Roshar itself, are as dangerous as they are incalculable.

I long for the days before the Last Desolation.The age before the Heralds abandoned us and the Knights Radiant turned against us. A time when there was still magic in the world and honor in the hearts of men.The world became ours, and yet we lost it. Victory proved to be the greatest test of all. Or was that victory illusory? Did our enemies come to recognize that the harder they fought, the fiercer our resistance? Fire and hammer will forge steel into a weapon, but if you abandon your sword, it eventually rusts away.There are four whom we watch. The first is the surgeon, forced to forsake healing to fight in the most brutal war of our time. The second is the assassin, a murderer who weeps as he kills. The third is the liar, a young woman who wears a scholar's mantle over the heart of a thief. The last is the prince, a warlord whose eyes have opened to the ancient past as his thirst for battle wanes.The world can change. Surgebinding and Shardwielding can return; the magics of ancient days become ours again. These four people are key.One of them may redeem us. And one of them will destroy us.From Brandon Sanderson-who completed Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time-comes The Stormlight Archive, an ambitious new fantasy epic in a unique, richly imagined setting. Roshar is a world relentlessly blasted by awesome tempests, where emotions take on physical form, and terrible secrets hide deep beneath the rocky landscape.Speak again the ancient oathsLife before death. Strength before weakness. Journey before destination.and return to men the Shards they once bore. The Knights Radiant must stand again!

CAUGHT BETWEEN THE COVERS OF A CURSED STORY...Ever since the extraordinary events of Inkspell, when the enchanted book Inkheart drew Meggie and her father, Mo, into its chapters, life in the Inkworld has been more tragic than magical.The fire-eater Dustfinger is dead, having sacrificed his life for his apprentice Farid's, and now, under the rule of the evil Adderhead, the fairy-tale land is in bloody chaos, its characters far beyond the control of Fenoglio, their author. Even Elinor, left behind in the real world, believes her family to be lost - lost between the covers of a book.Facing the threat of eternal winter, Mo inks a dangerous deal with Death itself. There yet remains a faint hope of changing the cursed story - if only he can fill its pages fast enough.Inkdeath - the captivating final tale in the Inkheart trilogy.

Excitement for the MYST series continues with the release of the new CD-ROM -- Riven, the long awaited sequel to MYST.In the third novel by the creators of the CD-ROM phenomenon, Catherine and Atrus return to the devastated domain of the D'Ni civilization to fulfill their destinies. But as they begin to search the many worlds, seeking the survivors Ti'ana told them of, they find clues that bring them to a hidden book and discover a secret that the D'Ni masters planned long ago.

I really enjoyed the first Myst book and was excited to start this one. My high expectations diminished quickly as I struggled through the first 200 pages of the book where it felt like absolutely nothing happend. However, one thing I learned is that the author is clearly either a geology professor or someone who has a passion for geology; as made evident by the numerous digging/excavating scenes loaded with geological terminology = boring.I never played the PC game, so there was zero nostalgia to draw upon and give me a chance to recover from the first third of the story with the hopes to salvage an enjoyable experience with this book. My recommendation is to skip the first 200 pages and begin when Anna is captured by the D'ni.

3.5 stars, but I'm happy to round up for this obscure little book that's been mostly forgotten. Readers and writers of sci-fi and fantasy will often mention "worldbuilding": the process of developing a world that is different from the one we live in. It's less common to see fictional characters grappling with those issues themselves, but that's exactly what this novel is about. Atrus was raised by his grandmother, in an isolated dwelling in the desert. He spends his time studying the environment, growing food, and generally being content with life until the day his father, Gehn, arrives to claim him as an apprentice. Gehn is obsessed with reviving a practice known simply as the Art: the writing of magical books that form portals to other worlds. Atrus, however, has more questions than Gehn is willing to answer. Is the writer creating worlds, or simply creating bridges to worlds that already exist? And what responsibility does the writer owe to those who inhabit these worlds? Gehn uses his powers to play god, while Atrus uses his powers to try to repair the damage, causing the relationship between father and son to fray. In some ways it's the usual bildungsroman, but unique in the way that entire parallel worlds mature alongside our main character. The reason I picked up this book is that it's based on the Myst videogame, which was one of my best-loved games as a kid. Part of what made the game so addictive was the worldbuilding: by solving puzzles, you discover portal books that transport you to worlds that are eerie, enchanting, and mostly empty of other humans. In that atmosphere of isolation, the slightest trace of any other character would make my heart pound. So, it was hard to resist a book about what those characters had been up to, but I was still skeptical about whether a book based on a videogame could possibly be any good. I was pleasantly surprised. The writing, at first, seems a little too detailed in its descriptiveness, but it was easy enough to get used to and I think it's somewhat meta: when Atrus starts writing his own books, there are many discussions about how much detail a writer needs to use when crafting a stable, functioning world. I also think it's a trait inherited from the book's videogame predecessor; when playing a game, one is acutely aware of what's visible from each vantage point of an island, and how many steps it takes to get from point A to point B. And even though the book deals with the art of worldbuilding, there's science involved too - gravity, soil composition, and temperature all influence whether a world is habitable, and the story doesn't shy away from taking these technicalities into consideration. Character-wise, the contrast between Atrus and Gehn highlights different modes of learning and creativity. Gehn is all about rote learning and collecting pieces from pre-existing works, whereas Atrus is more concerned with uncovering underlying principles and looking at a system as a whole. Finally, I really enjoyed the little twist on gender roles. Much of the book is about men engaged in manly activities of pioneering, engineering, and wrangling for power, while women play the role of caretakers, and are kept on the sidelines lest they get hurt. When we discover that these women are actually pioneers and engineers to at least the same extent as the men are, I pretty much clapped with glee. This is one of the few cases where I wouldn't mind reading a companion novel that covers the same timeframe but from a different point of view, because there's a lot going on that I would have liked to learn more about.

The seventh book in the internationally bestselling Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage, featuring the funny and fantastic adventures of a wizard apprentice and his quest to become an ExtraOrdinary Wizard.Favorite characters return in this stunning seventh final book in Angie Sage's New York Times bestselling Magykal series: ExtraOrdinary Wizard Marcia Overstrand, Alchemist Marcellus Pye, and of course Septimus Heap, Jenna, Beetle, Simon, Lucy, and the rest of the Heap gang.Jenna will soon be Queen and Beetle is now Chief Hermetic Scribe. Septimus, however, must rid the Castle of the Darke Domaine by destroying the Two-Faced Ring. His skills in both Magyk and Physik will be tested, as will his loyalties.Filled with Angie Sage's characteristic humor and heart, Fyre is a grand finale that is fantasy adventure at its best.

The fourth book in the internationally bestselling Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage, featuring the funny and fantastic adventures of a wizard apprentice and his quest to become an ExtraOrdinary Wizard.New York Times Bestselling Series"Breezy charm, gusts of spectacular Magyk and a buoyant plot combining drama and comedy in just the right proportions." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)"The Septimus Heap series remains one of the best outcomes of the young-wizard furor catalyzed by Harry Potter." --ALA BooklistThere's trouble at the Castle, and it's all because Merrin Meredith has returned with Darke plans for Septimus. More trouble awaits Septimus and Jenna in the form of Tertius Fume, the ghost of the very first Chief Hermetic Scribe, who is determined to send Septimus on a deadly Queste. But Septimus and Jenna have other plans--they are headed for the mysterious House of Foryx, a place where all Time meets and the place where they fervently hope they will be able to find Nicko and Snorri, who were trapped back in time in Physik. But how will Septimus escape the Queste?

The first part of an enthralling new series leads readers on a fantastic journey filled with quirky characters, clever charms, potions and spells. Ages 9+.The 7th son of the 7th son, aptly named Septimus Heap, is stolen the night he is born by a midwife who pronounces him dead. That same night, the baby's father, Silas Heap, comes across a bundle in the snow containing a newborn girl with violet eyes. The Heaps take this helpless newborn into their home, name her Jenna, and raise her as their own. But who is this mysterious baby girl, and what really happened to their beloved son, Septimus?The first part of this enthralling new series leads readers on a fantastic journey filled with quirky characters, clever charms, potions and spells, and a yearning to uncover the mystery at the heart of this story...who is Septimus Heap? Angie Sage writes in the tradition of great British storytellers. Her inventive fantasy is filled with humor and heart: Magyk will have readers laughing and begging for more.

In the sixth book of the Magykal series, Alther Mella has been Banished, a Darke Domaine engulfs the Castle, and a Darke dragon is on the loose. Septimus Heap must use all of his skills to save the Castle and the Wizard Tower from destruction: He must enter the Darke. But he cannot do this alone. With the help of Jenna, Alther Mella, Marcellus Pye, and Septimus's estranged brother, Simon Heap, Septimus and Marcia Overstrand battle the spreading Darkenesse. Will Septimus succeed in protecting his Magykal world?Written with Angie Sage's characteristic humor, Septimus Heap, Book Six: Darke is a compelling fantasy adventure filled with surprises, thrills, and laugh-out-loud moments. Readers will revel in the action-packed story as they realize the wisdom of Magyk--that all things are meant to be part of a living whole.

In this fifth book in the Magykal series, Septimus ends up on a captivatingly beautiful island, one of seven set in a sparkling sea. He's stranded there with his badly injured dragon, Spit Fyre, along with Jenna and Beetle. There are some strange things about the island, including a Magykal girl named Syrah, a cat-shaped lighthouse that has lost its Light, and an eerie presence that sings to Septimus—can he escape the persistent call?Trouble is also brewing for Lucy and Wolf Boy, who have become entangled with some nefarious sailors at sea, and for Milo Banda, Jenna's father, who is harboring a mysterious treasure chest in his ship's hold.Charismatic storyteller Angie Sage continues Septimus Heap's Magykal journey with more laugh-out-loud adventures, more enchanting charms and spells, and an ever-deepening understanding of the interior life of a young hero.

It's been a year since Septimus Heap discovered his real family and true calling to be a wizard. As Apprentice to Extra Ordinary Wizard Marcia Overstrand, he is learning the fine arts of Conjurations, Charms, and other Magyk, while Jenna is adapting to life as the Princess and enjoying the freedom of the Castle.But there is something sinister at work. Marcia is constantly trailed by a menacing Darke Shadow, and Septimus's brother Simon seems bent on a revenge no one understands. Why is the Darke Magyk still lingering?Bringing fantasy to new heights, Angie Sage continues the journey of Septimus Heap with her trademark humor and all of the clever details readers have come to love.

The third book in the internationally bestselling Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage, featuring the funny and fantastic adventures of a wizard apprentice and his quest to become an ExtraOrdinary Wizard.New York Times Bestselling Series"Few fans of the best-selling Septimus Heap series will be disappointed." --ALA Booklist"Readers will be indubitably hooked--worrying, laughing, and gasping over the nonstop adventures of this engaging troupe." --VOYA (Starred Review)When Silas Heap unSeals a forgotten room in the Palace, he releases the ghost of a Queen who lived five hundred years earlier. Queen Etheldredda is as awful in death as she was in life, and she's still up to no good. Her diabolical plan to give herself everlasting life requires Jenna's compliance, Septimus's disappearance, and the talents of her son, Marcellus Pye, a famous Alchemist and Physician. And if Queen Etheldredda's plot involves Jenna and Septimus, then it will surely involve Nicko, Alther Mella, Marcia Overstrand, Beetle, Stanley, Sarah, Silas, Spit Fyre, Aunt Zelda, and all of the other wacky, wonderful characters that made Magyk and Flyte so memorable.With heart-stopping action and a dash of humor, Angie Sage continues the fantastical journey of Septimus Heap.

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