My Favorite Fantasy and Science Fiction Books
Explore my top picks for fantasy and science fiction books! Discover must-read favorites in epic fantasy, space opera, and speculative fiction for your next adventure.
Book
Daughter of the Blood
by Anne Bishop
The dark and alluring first novel in New York Times bestselling author Anne Bishop’s beloved Black Jewels series introduces Jaenelle Angelline, a witch with astonishing power and a dangerous destiny, and Daemon Sadi, the lethal Warlord Prince born to be her lover. Seven hundred years ago, a Black Widow witch saw an ancient prophecy come to life in her web of dreams and visions. Now the Dark Kingdom readies itself for the arrival of its Queen, a Witch who will wield more power than even the High Lord of Hell himself. But she is still young, still open to influence—and corruption. Whoever controls the Queen controls the darkness. Three men—sworn enemies—know this. And they know the power that hides behind the blue eyes of an innocent young girl. And so begins a ruthless game of politics and intrigue, magic and betrayal, where the weapons are hate and love—and the prize could be terrible beyond imagining...
Book
Heir to the Shadows
by Anne Bishop
In the second novel set in the “darkly fascinating world” (SF Site) of Anne Bishop’s Black Jewels Trilogy, ambitions unfurl as the realm’s dreams of a liberator have finally been made flesh... The Blood have waited centuries for the coming of Witch, the living embodiment of magic. But Jaenelle, the young girl singled out by prophecy, is haunted by the cruel battles fought over her—for not all the Blood await her as their Savior. Some dismiss her as a myth. Some refuse to believe. And still others look forward to using her, making her a pawn to their shadowy devices. Only time and the devotion of her loyal guardians have healed Jaenelle’s physical wounds. But her mind is fragile, barely able to protect her from the horrifying memories of her childhood. Nothing, however, can deflect her from her destiny—and the day of reckoning looms near. When her memories return. When her magic matures. When she is forced to accept her fate. On that day, the dark Realms will know what it means to be ruled by Witch.
Book
Queen of the Darkness
by Anne Bishop
In the astonishing conclusion of Anne Bishop’s Black Jewels Trilogy, the Dark Court has been formed and the end—for some—draws exceedingly near... Jaenelle Angelline now reigns as Queen—protector of the Shadow Realm. No longer will the corrupt Blood slaughter her people and defile her lands. But where one chapter ends, a final, unseen battle remains to be written, and Jaenelle must unleash the terrible power that is Witch to destroy her enemies once and for all. Even so, she cannot stand alone. Somewhere, long lost in madness, is Daemon, her promised Consort. Only his unyielding love can complete her Court and secure her reign. Yet, even together, their strength may not be enough to hold back the most malevolent of forces. And in the end, under the emergent shadow of evil and unforeseen betrayal, only Jaenelle’s greatest sacrifice will save those she loves—and the realm she’s bound to protect...
Book
The invisible ring
by Anne Bishop
New York Times bestselling author Anne Bishop returns to the world of her Black Jewels Trilogy with a prequel that follows a man who is determined to rebel against the course set before him... Jared is a Red-Jeweled Warlord bound as a pleasure slave by the Ring of Obedience. After suffering nine years of torment as a slave, he murdered his owner and escaped—only to be caught and sold into slavery once again. Purchased by a notorious queen, Jared fears he will share the mysterious fate of her other slaves—never to be seen again—and so prepares himself for death. But the Gray Lady may not be what she seems and Jared soon faces a difficult decision: his freedom, or his honor...
Book
Wit'ch Fire
by James Clemens
“I loved every page of this book. Clemens has constructed a world of magic that’s never been seen before, with a cast of beings who are so engaging and entrancing that you never want the story to end.”—John Saul On a fateful night five centuries ago, three mages made a desperate last stand, sacrificing everything to preserve the only hope of goodness in the beautiful, doomed land of Alasea. Now, on the anniversary of that ominous night, a girl-child ripens into the heritage of lost power. But before she can even comprehend her terrible new gift, the Dark Lord dispatches his winged monsters to capture her and bring him the embryonic magic she embodies. Fleeing the minions of darkness, Elena is swept toward certain doom—and into the company of unexpected allies. There she forms a band of the hunted and the cursed, the outcasts and the outlaws, to battle the unstoppable forces of evil and rescue a once-glorious empire . . . Praise for Wit’ch Fire “Wit’ch Fire grabs at your heart and tears a little hole, then tears another, and another—a brutal and beautiful ride. I can’t put the book down!”—R. A. Salvatore “Full of violence, magical pyrotechnics, and black-heared villains.”—Publishers Weekly
Book
Wit'ch Storm (The Banned and the Banished, Book 2)
by James Clemens
A young girl struggles to master her gift of magic as she searches for the mystical book that will allow her to put an end to the evil Dark Lord.
Book
Wit'ch war
by James Clemens
The young witch Elena holds the destiny of Alasea kingdom in her hands and must recover the Blood Diary and master the secrets recorded in its pages in order to defeat the evil magicks of the Dark Lord.
Book
Fortune's Wheel (Sholan Alliance)
by Lisanne Norman
Carrie was the daughter of the human governor of the colony planet Keiss. Kusac was the son and the heir of the Sholan Clan Lord. Both were telepaths and the bond they formed was compounded equally of love and mind power. Now they were about to be thrust into an interstellar conflict, as factions on both their worlds sought to use their powers for their own ends.
Book
Fire Margins
by Lisanne Norman
The third book in Lisanne Norman's Sholan Alliance long-running science fiction series of alien contact and interspecies conflict Carrie and Kusac—she a human telepath, he a Sholan one—have together found a love stronger than all the differences between their two races. But now they have become the center of a power struggle between their peoples, as well as of one between the various guilds and clans on the Sholan homeworld. And they have discovered, too, that their situation is not unique. Other humans and Sholans are bonding as well. With the Sholan homeworld about to bear witness to the birth of a new hybridized race with powers beyond any of the Guilds, the current unstable political climate may soon explode into something far more violent. Approached by the Telepaths, the Warriors, and the secret organization known as the Brotherhood, Kusac realizes that he and Carrie have no choice but to strike out on their own, forming a new group outside of all the Clans and Guilds, and owing loyalty only to the most ancient of their gods. For only through exploring the Sholans’ long-buried and purposefully forgotten past, can they hope to find the answers they seek—and the path to survival not only for their own new people, but for the Sholans and humans as well....
Book
Razor's Edge
by Lisanne Norman
The fourth book in Lisanne Norman's Sholan Alliance long-running science fiction series of alien contact and interspecies conflict Carrie and Kusac—she a human telepath, he a Sholan one—have together formed a bond stronger than all the differences between their two races. They have survived the political manipulations of both their peoples, as well as successfully walking the Fire Margins, journeying into the past with Kaid, the third member of their Triad, and returning with shocking revelations about the Valtegan enemy and the ancient Cataclysm that transformed Sholan society. But the price of breaking with tradition comes high, as does the ongoing protection offered by the military. And now Carrie, Kusac, Kaid, and T’Chebbi must undertake a rescue mission to the distant world of Jalna to save present-day Sholans and humans who have been trapped there, as well as a Sholan pair from the age of the Cataclysm. What they can’t foresee is that the Valtegans planted the seeds of destruction on Jalna long ago, transforming the locals into a dangerously unstable race and threatening the telepathic powers of Sholans and humans alike.
Book
Dark Nadir (Norman, Lisanne. Sholan Alliance.)
by Lisanne Norman
The fifth book in Lisanne Norman's Sholan Alliance long-running science fiction series of alien contact and interspecies conflict The world of Jalna had revealed many secrets to the Sholan-Human teams sent there on a rescue mission. They had discovered one of the methods Valtegans used to control other races, had learned how deceitful one of their own allies had been, and were about to begin negotiations for an alliance with several newly met races. Yet the planetary conflicts had led to the injured Carrie and Kusac being placed in cryo on a non-Sholan vessel, with Kaid desperately trying to rush them back to Sholan medical facilities. But before they could reach their rendezvous point, the ship they were on was caught in a Valtegan trap, leaving Kaid barely enough time to send Carrie's and Kusac's life-pods into space, in the hope that they'd be found by friendly forces. Kaid was certain he and his people were doomed, until a massive vessel suddenly materialized, scooping up both Kaid's ship and the Valtegan foe. Now all of them were prisoners of a completely unknown people. And only time would tell whether they'd fallen into the clutches of an even more deadly enemy than the Valtegans....
Book
Stronghold rising
by Lisanne Norman
A rebellion spawned in a laboratory engaged in illegal breeding experiments threatens diplomatic negotiations to create a new relationship between the Primes and the Sholan Alliance, and an interstellar war could be the result.
Book
Belgarath the sorcerer
by David Eddings
Bestselling authors David and Leigh Eddings welcome readers back to the time before The Belgariad and The Malloreon series. Join them as they chronicle that fateful conflict between two mortally opposed Destinies, in a monumental war of men and kings and Gods. When the world was young and Gods still walked among their mortal children, a headstrong orphan boy set out to explore the world. Thus began the extraordinary adventures that would mold that youthful vagabond into a man, and the man into the finely honed instrument of Prophecy known to all the world as Belgarath the Sorcerer. Then came the dark day when the Dark God Torak split the world asunder, and the God Aldur and his disciples began their monumental labor to set Destiny aright. Foremost among their number was Belgarath. His ceaseless devotion was foredoomed to cost him that which he held most dear—even as his loyal service would extend through echoing centuries of loss, of struggle, and of ultimate triumph.
Book
Polgara the Sorceress (Malloreon (Paperback Random House))
by Leigh Eddings
Polgara is the epic culmination of a magnificent saga, and a fitting farewell to a world which, once experienced, will never be forgotten. She soars above a world of warriors, kings, and priests. The daughter of Belgarath and the shape-shifter Poledra, she has fought wars, plotted palace coups, and worked her powerful magic for three thousand years. Now, Polgara looks back at her magnificent life, in this fitting crown jewel to the saga that is the Eddings' Belgariad and Mallorean cycles. Her hair streaked white by her father's first touch, her mind guided by a mother she will not see again for centuries, Polgara begins life in her Uncle Beldin's tower, and in the prehistorical, magical Tree that stands in the middle of the Vale. There, she first learns the reaches of her powers. There she assumes the bird shapes that will serve her on her adventures. And there she starts on the path toward her destiny as Duchess of Erat, shepherdess of the cause of good, adversary of Torak the One-Eyed Dragon God, and guardian of the world's last, best hope: the heir to the Rivan throne. Here is the legendary life story of a woman of wit, passion, and complex emotions, a woman born of two majestic parents who could not have been more unlike one another. Ordained to make peace and make war, to gain love and lose love, Polgara lives out her family's rich prophecy in the ceaseless struggle between the Light and the Dark.
Book
Legends
by Robert Silverberg
Here they are, the writers and the worlds that have satisfied millions of readers. Each has returned to their compelling special places to tell a new tale that enriches and illuminates their most famous creations, in a big, lavish volume enhanced with color and illustrative materials. Many of the short novels take place at an earlier moment in the history of their worlds, and cast new light on the famous epics. Others fit into the already established patterns of their worlds, but happen offstage from the main action. All are essential reading to the millions of fans of these writers and worlds.Stephen King tells a tale of Roland, the Gunslinger, in The Little Sisters of Eluria Terry Pratchett relates an amusing incident in Discworld, in The Sea and Little Fishes Terry Goodkind tells of the origin of the Border between realms in the world of The Sword of Truth in Debt of Bones Orson Scott Card spins a yarn of Alvin and his apprentice in Grinning Man Robert Silverberg returns to Majipoor and to Lord Valentine's astonishing life in The Seventh Shrine Ursula K. Le Guin, in a sequel to her famous books of Earthsea, portrays a woman who wants to learn magic in Dragonfly Tad Williams tells an enthralling story of a great and haunted castle in an age before Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn in The Burning Man George R.R. Martin sets his adventure of The Hedge Knight a generation before his epic A Song of Ice and Fire Anne McCaffrey returns once again to her world of romance and adventure to tell of a Runner of Pern Raymond E. Feist's Riftwar Saga is the setting of the revenge of The Wood Boy Robert Jordan, in the final section in the book, New Spring, tells of the meeting of Lan and Moiraine and of the beginning of their search for a baby just born who must lead in the final battle
Book
Shadows over Lyra
by Patricia C. Wrede
Peopled by humans, Shee, forest-dwelling, Wyrdsd, and watery Neira, Lyra is a place of beauty and peace--or would be, if it were not for the immensely powerful and evil Shadow-born, straining against the bonds that have held them for millenia.
Book
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
by J. K. Rowling
Rescued from the outrageous neglect of his aunt and uncle, a young boy with a great destiny proves his worth while attending Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry.