Great Fantasy/ Science Fiction Series
Discover the best fantasy and science fiction book series of all time! Explore epic adventures, magical worlds, and futuristic sagas in our curated list of must-read series.
Book
Dead Witch Walking
by Kim Harrison
All the creatures of the night gather in "the Hollows" of Cincinnati, to hide, to prowl, to party ... and to feed. Vampires rule the darkness in a predator-eat-predator world rife with dangers beyond imagining -- and it’s Rachel Morgan's job to keep that world civilized. A bounty hunter and witch with serious sex appeal and an attitude, she'll bring 'em back alive, dead ... or undead.
Book
The Good, the Bad, and the Undead
by Kim Harrison
It's a tough life for witch Rachel Morgan, sexy, independent bounty hunter, prowling the darkest shadows of downtown Cincinnati for criminal creatures of the night. She can handle the leather-clad vamps and even tangle with a cunning demon or two. But a serial killer who feeds on the experts in the most dangerous kind of black magic is definitely pressing the limits. Confronting an ancient, implacable evil is more than just child's play -- and this time, Rachel will be lucky to escape with her very soul.
Book
Every Which Way But Dead
by Kim Harrison
Rachel Morgan's back! Bestselling author Kim Harrison returns with a new supernatural adventure that fans of Laurell K. Hamilton and Charlaine Harris won't want to miss. Some days, you just can't win. Witch and former bounty hunter Rachel Morgan's managed to escape her corrupt company, survive living with a vampire, start her own runner service, and face down a vampire master. But her vampire roommate Ivy is off the wagon, her human boyfriend Nick is out of town indefinitely and doesn't sound like he's coming back while the far-too-seductive vampire Kisten is looking way too tempting, and there's a turf war erupting in Cincinnati's underworld. And there's a greater evil still. To put the vampire master behind bars and save her family, Rachel made a desperate bargain and now there's hell to pay—literally. For if Rachel cannot stop him, the archdemon Algaliarept will pull her into the sorcerous ever-after to forfeit her soul as his slave. Forever.
Book
A Fistful of Charms
by Kim Harrison
The evil night things that prowl Cincinnati despise witch and bounty hunter Rachel Morgan. Her new reputation for the dark arts is turning human and undead heads alike with the intent to possess, bed, and kill her -- not necessarily in that order. Now a mortal lover who abandoned Rachel has returned, haunted by his secret past. And there are those who covet what Nick possesses -- savage beasts willing to destroy the Hollows and everyone in it if necessary. Forced to keep a low profile or eternally suffer the wrath of a vengeful demon, Rachel must nevertheless act quickly. For the pack is gathering for the first time in millennia to ravage and to rule. And suddenly more than Rachel's soul is at stake.
Book
For a Few Demons More
by Kim Harrison
Despite dating one vampire and living with another, Rachel Morgan has always managed to stay just ahead of trouble . . . until now. A fiendish serial killer stalks the Hollows, and no one living in or around Cincinnati—human, inhuman, or undead—is safe. An ancient artifact may be the key to stopping the murderer—a mysterious relic that is now in the hands of Rachel Morgan, fearless independent bounty hunter and reckless witch. But revealing it could ignite a battle to the death among the vast and varied local supernatural races. Rachel's been lucky so far. But even she can't hide from catastrophe forever.
Book
The Outlaw Demon Wails
by Kim Harrison
When you dance with demons, you lay your soul on the line . . . In the Hollows, where the natural and the supernatural co-exist—not always peacefully—desperate times often call for unorthodox measures. But bounty hunter-witch Rachel Morgan did the absolutely unthinkable to save the lives of her friends: she willingly trafficked in forbidden demon magic. And now her sins have come home to haunt her. As Rachel hunts for the truth behind a terrifying murder, the discovery of a shocking family secret is about to throw her entire life into question. And the long-lost ancient knowledge she seeks resides in the demonic ever-after. But there are some lines that should never be crossed—like the one Rachel Morgan's stepping over . . . again!
Book
Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Set
by Laurell K. Hamilton
Now available in this special boxed set--the first four volumes of Hamilton's New York Times bestselling Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter novels. Includes Guilty Pleasures, The Laughing Corpse, Circus of the Damned, and The Lunatic Cafe. Original.
Book
Touch the Dark
by Karen Chance
THE FIRST NOVEL IN THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING CASSANDRA PALMER SERIES! Cassandra Palmer can see the future and communicate with spirits—talents that make her attractive to the dead and the undead. The ghosts of the dead aren’t usually dangerous; they just like to talk…a lot. The undead are another matter. Like any sensible girl, Cassie tries to avoid vampires. But when the bloodsucking mafioso she escaped three years ago finds Cassie again with vengeance on his mind, she’s forced to turn to the vampire Senate for protection. The undead senators won’t help her for nothing, and Cassie finds herself working with one of their most powerful members, a dangerously seductive master vampire—and the price he demands may be more than Cassie is willing to pay....
Book
Claimed By Shadow
by Karen Chance
Clairvoyant Cassie Plamer has inherited new magical powers-including the ability to travel through time. But it's a whole lot of responsibility she'd rather not have. Now she's the most popular girl in town, as an assortment of vamps, fey, and mages try to convince, force, or seduce her-and her magic-over to their side. But one particular master vampire didn't ask what Cassie wanted before putting a claim on her. He had a spell cast that binds her to him, and now she doesn't know if what she feels for him is real-or imagined...
Book
Embrace the Night
by Karen Chance
View our feature on Karen Chance's Embrace the Night. Cassandra Palmer may be the world's chief clairvoyant, but she's still magically bound to a master vampire. Only an ancient book called the Codex Merlini possesses the incantation to free Cassie-but harnessing its limitless power could endanger the world... Read Karen Chance's posts on the Penguin Blog.
Book
Living Dead in Dallas
by Charlaine Harris
The second novel in #1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris’s “addictively entertaining” (Locus) Sookie Stackhouse series—the inspiration for the HBO® original series True Blood. Even though Sookie has her own vampire to look out for her—her red-hot, cold-blooded boyfriend, Bill Compton—she has to admit that the bloodsuckers did save her life. So when one of the local Undead asks the cocktail waitress for a favor, she feels like she owes them. Soon, Sookie’s in Dallas using her telepathic skills to search for a missing vampire. She’s supposed to interview certain humans involved. There’s just one condition: The vampires must promise to behave—and let the humans go unharmed. Easier said than done. All it takes is one delicious blonde and one small mistake for things to turn deadly...
Book
Club Dead
by Charlaine Harris
Bon Temps’s psychic waitress takes a dangerous road trip in the third novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling Sookie Stackhouse series—the inspiration for the HBO® original series True Blood. There’s only one vampire Sookie Stackhouse is involved with (at least voluntarily) and it’s Bill Compton. But recently he’s been a little distant—in another state, distant. Then his sinister and sexy boss Eric Northman tells Sookie where she might find him. Next thing she knows, she’s off to Jackson, Mississippi, to mingle with the under-underworld at Club Dead, a dangerous little haunt where the elite of vampire society can go to chill out and suck down some Type-O. But when Sookie finally finds Bill—caught in an act of serious betrayal—she’s not sure whether to save him...or sharpen some stakes.
Book
Dead to the World
by Charlaine Harris
Psychic Sookie Stackhouse has her hands full with an amnesiac vampire in the fourth seductive novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling series—the inspiration for the HBO® original series True Blood. When cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse sees a naked man on the side of the road, she doesn’t just drive on by. Turns out the poor thing hasn’t a clue who he is, but Sookie does. It’s the vampire Eric Northman—but now he’s a kinder, gentler Eric. And a scared Eric, because whoever took his memory now wants his life. Sookie’s investigation into why leads straight into a dangerous battle among witches, vampires, and werewolves. But a greater danger could be to Sookie’s heart—because the kinder, gentler Eric is very difficult to resist...
Book
Cast In Shadow
by Michelle Sagara
Seven years ago Kaylin fled the crime-riddled streets of Nightshade, knowing that something was after her. Children were being murdered — and all had the same odd markings that mysteriously appeared on her own skin.… Since then, she's learned to read, she's learned to fight and she's become one of the vaunted Hawks who patrol and police the City of Elantra. Alongside the winged Aerians and the immortal Barrani, she's made a place for herself, far from the mean streets of her birth. But children are once again dying, and a dark and familiar pattern is emerging. Kaylin is ordered back into Nightshade with a partner she knows she can't trust, a Dragon lord for a companion and a device to contain her powers — powers that no other human has. Her task is simple — find the killer, stop the murders…and survive the attentions of those who claim to be her allies!
Book
Cast In Secret
by Michelle Sagara
Still avoiding magic whenever possible, Private Kaylin Neya relished investigating a run-of-the-mill theft. Until she found out the mysterious stolen box had been taken from Elani Street, where the mages and charlatans mingled, and it was sometimes hard to tell the difference between the two. And since the box was ancient, without a keyhole, and held tremendous darkness inside, Kaylin knew unknown forces were again playing with her destiny—and her life.…
Book
Melusine
by Sarah Monette
Felix Harrowgate, a handsome, well-respected wizard among his aristocratic peers, finds his dark past as an abused slave coming back to haunt him and joins forces with Mildmay the Fox, a thief and assassin, to stop the demons of darkness. Reprint.
Book
The Mirador
by Sarah Monette
In a continuation of the series that began with Mlusine and The Virtu, wizard Felix Harrowgate returns to the Mirador, the citadel of power and wizardry, unaware that enemies from the Bastion, a rival school of wizards, plan to use him to destroy the Mirador, unless Felix's half-brother, Mildmay the Fox, can stop them. Reprint.
Book
The Virtu
by Sarah Monette
A powerful wizard until his former mentor seizes his magic and uses it to shatter the Virtu, an orb that serves as the magical source and protection for the city's wizards, Felix Harrowgate's only chance of reclaiming his power is to restore the Virtu, joining forces with Mildmay the Fox, a cursed assassin and cat-burglar whose fate is linked with that of Felix. Reprint.
Book
Bitten
by Kelley Armstrong
On the eve of her marriage, Elena Michaels learns that her fiance has been concealing his secret life as a werewolf, and, as a bonus, he has made her into one also.
Book
Stolen
by Kelley Armstrong
The only living female werewolf, thirty-year-old Elena Michaels takes on a mission to confront Internet billionaire Tyrone Winsloe, who has been capturing Elena's fellow paranormal brethren, conducting experiments on them, and hunting them to their deaths in a live video game. By the author of Bitten. Reprint.
Book
Dime Store Magic
by Kelley Armstrong
After the death of her mother, Paige Winterbourne inherits the role of leader of the American Coven of Witches and is put in charge of an orphan girl who is all too willing to use her powers for evil and must be shown the proper way to use her magic.
Book
Industrial Magic
by Kelley Armstrong
Paige Winterbourne matches wits with an otherworldly killer preying on the teenage offspring of the underworld's most influential Cabals, including the Cortez Cabal, whose own rebellious scion, Lucas, is Paige's boyfriend.
Book
The Way of Shadows
by Brent Weeks
Determined to escape the Warrens, Azoth seeks out Durzo Blint, the city's most ruthless assassin, to persuade him to take him on as an apprentice and to teach him the deadly Way of Shadows, in the first volume in a new fantasy trilogy. Original.
Book
Shadow's Edge
by Brent Weeks
From New York Times bestselling author Brent Weeks... Kylar Stern has rejected the assassin's life. The Godking's successful coup has left Kylar's master, Durzo, and his best friend, Logan, dead. He is starting over: new city, new friends, and new profession. But when he learns that Logan might actually be alive and in hiding, Kylar is faced with an agonizing choice: will he give up the way of shadows forever and live in peace with his new family, or will he risk everything by taking on the ultimate hit? Night Angel The Way of Shadows Shadow's Edge Beyond the Shadows Night Angel: The Complete Trilogy (omnibus) Perfect Shadow: A Night Angel Novella (e-only) The Way of Shadows: The Graphic Novel For more from Brent Weeks, check out: Lightbringer The Black Prism The Blinding Knife The Broken Eye The Blood Mirror
Book
Beyond the Shadows
by Brent Weeks
From New York Times bestselling author Brent Weeks... Logan Gyre is king of Cenaria, a country under siege, with a threadbare army and little hope. He has one chance - a desperate gamble, but one that could destroy his kingdom. In the north, the new Godking has a plan. If it comes to fruition, no one will have the power to stop him. Kylar Stern has no choice. To save his friends-and perhaps his enemies-he must accomplish the impossible: assassinate a goddess. Beyond the Shadows is the action-packed conclusion to the Night Angel Trilogy. Night Angel The Way of Shadows Shadow's Edge Beyond the Shadows Night Angel: The Complete Trilogy (omnibus) Perfect Shadow: A Night Angel Novella (e-only) The Way of Shadows: The Graphic Novel For more from Brent Weeks, check out: Lightbringer The Black Prism The Blinding Knife The Broken Eye The Blood Mirror
Book
Dead Man Rising
by Lilith Saintcrow
As psychics all over the city are being savagely murdered, a piece of the past half-demon bounty hunter Dante Valentine thought she'd buried is stalking the night with a vengeance. Original.
Book
The Devil's Right Hand
by Lilith Saintcrow
Dante Valentine, Necromancer and bounty hunter, just wants to be left alone. But the Devil has other ideas. The Prince wants Dante. And he wants her now. And Dante and her lover, Japhrimel, have no choice but to answer the Prince's summons. And to fulfill a seemingly simple task: become the Devil's Right Hand, hunt down four demons that have escaped from Hell, and earn His gratitude. It's a shame that nothing is ever easy when it comes to the Devil. Because of course, he doesn't tell Dante the whole truth: there is a rebellion brewing in Hell. And there is a good chance that Lucifer is about to be pushed off the throne. But Dante is getting really tired of being pushed around. And this time, she might be angry enough to take on the Devil himself... Dante Valentine Novels Working for the Devil Dead Man Rising Devil's Right Hand Saint City Sinners To Hell and Back Dante Valentine (omnibus) For more from Lilith Saintcrow, check out: Gallow and Ragged Trailer Park Fae Bannon and Clare The Iron Wyrm Affair The Red Plague Affair The Ripper Affair The Damnation Affair (e-only) Jill Kismet Novels Night Shift Hunter's Prayer Redemption Alley Flesh Circus Heaven's Spite Angel Town Jill Kismet (omnibus) A Romance of Arquitaine Novels The Hedgewitch Queen The Bandit King Blood Call (coming August 2015)
Book
Saint City Sinners
by Lilith Saintcrow
Saint City has always been Dante Valentine's home. It's where she grew up, it's where her dead are buried, and it's where she learned to hunt. Now, one call from an old friend will bring her back to investigate a murder too close to home for anyone's comfort. But the one person she trusted has just betrayed her. Sometimes revenge is best served demon-hot... Dante Valentine Novels Working for the Devil Dead Man Rising Devil's Right Hand Saint City Sinners To Hell and Back Dante Valentine (omnibus) For more from Lilith Saintcrow, check out: Gallow and Ragged Trailer Park Fae Bannon and Clare The Iron Wyrm Affair The Red Plague Affair The Ripper Affair The Damnation Affair (e-only) Jill Kismet Novels Night Shift Hunter's Prayer Redemption Alley Flesh Circus Heaven's Spite Angel Town Jill Kismet (omnibus) A Romance of Arquitaine Novels The Hedgewitch Queen The Bandit King Blood Call (coming August 2015)
Book
To Hell and Back
by Lilith Saintcrow
With her body shattered, her mind in turmoil, and her life in utter chaos when she becomes a pawn in one of Lucifer's endless games, Necromancer Dante Valentine is just angry enough to come up with a scheme to make the Devil pay.
Book
A Kiss of Shadows
by Laurell K. Hamilton
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Stunning . . . steamy . . . an exciting and original world.”—San Jose Mercury News Meet Merry Gentry, paranormal P.I., and enter a thrilling, sensual world as dangerous as it is beautiful, full of earthly pleasures and dazzling magic, and ruled by the all-consuming passions of immortal beings once worshipped as gods . . . or demons. Merry Gentry, princess of the high court of Faerie, is posing as a human in Los Angeles, working as a private investigator specializing in supernatural crime. But now the queen’s assassin has been dispatched to fetch her—whether she likes it or not. Suddenly Merry finds herself a pawn in her dreaded aunt’s plans. The job that awaits her: enjoy the constant company of the most beautiful immortal men in the world. The reward: the crown—and the opportunity to continue to live. The penalty for failure: death. Praise for Laurell K. Hamilton and A Kiss of Shadows “One of the most inventive and exciting writers in the paranormal field.”—Charlaine Harris “Sexy . . . Merry’s adventures are engaging and keep the reader turning the pages.”—St. Louis Post-Dispatch “I’ve never read a writer with a more fertile imagination.”—Diana Gabaldon
Book
A Caress of Twilight
by Laurell K. Hamilton
“I am Princess Meredith, heir to a throne—if I can stay alive long enough to claim it.” After eluding relentless assassination attempts by Prince Cel, her cousin and rival for the Faerie crown, Meredith Gentry, Los Angeles private eye, has a whole new set of problems. To become queen, she must bear a child before Cel can father one of his own. But havoc lies on the horizon: people are dying in mysterious, frightening ways, and suddenly the very existence of the place known as Faerie is at grave risk. So now, while she enjoys the greatest pleasures of her life attempting to conceive a baby with the warriors of her royal guard, she must fend off an ancient evil that could destroy the very fabric of reality. And that’s just her day job. . . .
Book
Seduced by Moonlight
by Laurell K. Hamilton
I am Meredith Gentry, P.I. and Princess Merry, heir to the throne of Fairie. Now there are those among me who whisper I am more. They fear me even as they protect me. And who can blame them? I’ve awakened the dazzling magic that’s slumbered in them for thousands of years. But the thing is, I can’t figure out why. My aunt, the Queen of Air and Darkness, is no longer distracted by her usual sadistic hobbies. Her obsession has turned unwaveringly to me. The mission to get me pregnant and beat my cousin Prince Cel to the crown is taking longer than expected. Even though I spend each night with the Queen’s Ravens, my immortal guards, no child has come of our decadent pleasures. But something else is happening. My magic courses through me uncontrollably. And as I lock my half-mortal body with their full-Sidhe blooded ones, the power surges like never before. It all began with the chalice. I dreamed of it, and it appeared, cool and hard, beside me when I awoke. My guards know the ancient relic well—its disappearance ages ago stripped them of their vital powers. But it is here with us now. My touch resonates with its force, and they’re consumed with it, their Sidhe essences lit up by it. But even as they cherish me for this unexpected gift, there are those who loathe me for it. Me, a mongrel, only half fey and part mortal. The Unseelie court has suffered for so long, and there are some who would not have it weakened further by an impure queen. My enemies grow in number every day. But they do not know what I am capable of. Nor, for that matter, do I. . . . In Seduced by Moonlight, Laurell K. Hamilton brings the dark, erotic reign of the immortal fey to a startling new depth. Full of sensuality and the consuming anticipation of latent powers unleashed, this world of gods, shapeshifters, and immortal souls is unveiled in all of its supreme magnificence and its treacherous deceits.
Book
A Stroke of Midnight
by Laurell K. Hamilton
I am Meredith Gentry, P.I., solving cases in Los Angeles, far from the peril and deception of my real home-because I am also Princess Meredith, heir to the darkest throne faerie has to offer. The Unseelie Court infuses me with its power. But at what price does such magic come? How much of my human side will I have to give up, and how much of the sinister side of faerie will I have to embrace? To sit on a throne that has ruled through bloodshed and violence for centuries, I might have to become that which I dread the most. Enemies watch my every move. My cousin Cel strives to have me killed even now from his prison cell. But not all the assassination attempts are his. Some Unseelie nobles have waited centuries for my aunt Andais, Queen of Air and Darkness, to become weak enough that she might be toppled from her throne. Enemies unforeseen move against us-enemies who would murder the least among us. The threat will drive us to allow human police into faerie for the first time in our history. I need my allies now more than ever, especially since fate will lead me into the arm of Mistral, Master of Storms, the queen's new captain of her guard. Our passion will reawaken powers long forgotten among the warriors of the sidhe. Pain and pleasure await me-and danger, as well, for some at that court seek only death. I will find new joys with the butterfly-winged demi-fey. My guards and I will show all of faerie that violence and sex are as popular among the sidhe as they are among the lesser fey of our court. The Darkness will weep, and Frost will comfort him. The gentlest of my guards will find new strength and break my heart. Passions undreamed of await us-and my enemies gather, for the future of both courts of faerie begins to unravel. From the Hardcover edition.
Book
Mistral's Kiss
by Laurell K. Hamilton
I am Princess Meredith, heir to a throne of faerie. My day job, once upon a time, was as a private detective in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, princess has now become a full-time occupation. My aunt, Queen Andais, will have it no other way. And so I am virtually a prisoner in faerie–trapped here with some of the realm’s most beautiful men to serve as my bodyguards . . . and my lovers. For I am compelled to conceive a child: an heir to succeed me on the throne. Yet after months of amazing sex with my consorts, there is still no baby. And no baby means no throne. The only certainty is death at the hands of my cousin Cel, or his followers, if I fail to conceive. Now Mistral, Queen Andais’s new captain of the guard, has come to my bed–defying her and risking her terrible wrath in doing so. But even she will hesitate to punish him in jealous rage, because our joining has reawakened old magic, mystical power so ancient that no one stands against it and survives. Not even my strongest and most favored: my Darkness and my Killing Frost. Not even Mistral himself, my Storm Lord. But because Mistral has helped to bring this magic forth, he may live another day. If I can reclaim control of the fey power that once was, there may be hope for me and my reign in faerie. I might yet quell the dark schemes and subterfuges surrounding me. Though shadows of obsession and conspiracy gather, I may survive.
Book
A Lick of Frost
by Laurell K. Hamilton
I am Meredith Gentry, princess and heir apparent to the throne in the realm of faerie, onetime private investigator in the mortal world. To be crowned queen, I must first continue the royal bloodline and give birth to an heir of my own. If I fail, my aunt, Queen Andais, will be free to do what she most desires: install her twisted son, Cel, as monarch . . . and kill me. My royal guards surround me, and my best loved–my Darkness and my Killing Frost–are always beside me, sworn to protect and make love to me. But still the threat grows greater. For despite all my carnal efforts, I remain childless, while the machinations of my sinister, sadistic Queen and her confederates remain tireless. So my bodyguards and I have slipped back into Los Angeles, hoping to outrun the gathering shadows of court intrigue. But even exile isn’t enough to escape the grasp of those with dark designs. Now King Taranis, powerful and vainglorious ruler of faerie’s Seelie Court, has leveled accusations against my noble guards of a heinous crime–and has gone so far as to ask the mortal authorities to prosecute. If he succeeds, my men face extradition to faerie and the hideous penalties that await them there. But I know that Taranis’s charges are baseless, and I sense that his true target is me. He tried to kill me when I was a child. Now I fear his intentions are far more terrifying.
Book
Moon Called
by Patricia Briggs
THE FIRST MERCY THOMPSON NOVEL! Moon Called is the novel that introduced Patricia Briggs’s Mercy Thompson to the world and launched a #1 bestselling phenomenon... Mercy Thompson is a shapeshifter, and while she was raised by werewolves, she can never be one of them, especially after the pack ran her off for having a forbidden love affair. So she’s turned her talent for fixing cars into a business and now runs a one-woman mechanic shop in the Tri-Cities area of Washington State. But Mercy’s two worlds are colliding. A half-starved teenage boy arrives at her shop looking for work, only to reveal that he’s a newly changed werewolf—on the run and desperately trying to control his animal instincts. Mercy asks her neighbor Adam Hauptman, the Alpha of the local werewolf pack, for assistance. But Mercy’s act of kindness has unexpected consequences that leave her no choice but to seek help from those she once considered family—the werewolves who abandoned her... “In the increasingly crowded field of kick-ass supernatural heroines, Mercy stands out as one of the best.”—Locus