Showing results by narrator "Steven Brand" in All Categories

He stands between two worlds, a savior and a destroyer to both. Dragons and aegres will fall. But one can turn the tide. One who stands in the shadow of kings. Such has been seen by the doomed. The weight of ten thousand lives and all the realm besides now sits on Joran's shoulders. So much has already been sacrificed to bring him to the ancient doors of Drakanan, where he might take on the mantle of Dragon Rider and usher in a new age of heroes. But a time of dragons is not all that has been seen…

Dragons Riders: The last noble warriors in the realm. Only heroes can embolden the ordinary. For centuries, millennia, the Dragon Riders galvanized generation after generation, adding Riders to their ranks and birthing dragons from their eggs. But there are no more heroes. War with the Andarens is like nothing the Riders, nor the armies of Erador, have ever faced. In the place of heroes, there are only soldiers now. Fodder for the machine of war. This time of twilight is set to be the crowning hour of the dark when the light is losing its grip.

Rangers aren’t born, they’re forged. Never has this been more true for Asher, who must train a new ranger…or be the one to hunt him down. Surviving an encounter with a Werewolf has changed Russell Maybury’s life forever. If he is to salvage anything, he must craft a new life using his abilities to do good. Should he stray, he will answer to Asher.

The spectacular conclusion to the New York Times best-selling Raven's Shadow series, which began with the critically acclaimed Blood Song. Empires will fall. Queen Lyrna has survived the bloody siege of Alltor. Now she must rally her troops and take back the capital from the Volarian invaders. But driving her hated enemy out of the Realm will not satisfy her lust for vengeance - she wants to pursue them across the ocean and burn their empire to ashes. To do so she must place her faith in the Seventh Order.

In the heart of Vandar, as dark forces close in, Elyon, a gifted Bladeborn knight, fights for his family's survival in a world on the brink of war. In the beleaguered northlands of Tukor, a servant girl with a mysterious past is forced on the run by a treacherous lord, propelling her on a journey that will change her world forever. From the Shadowfort, an ancient power is unleashed, one that will set into motion a series of events that will bring the world to its knees.

Born into the troubled kingdom of Albermaine, Alwyn Scribe is raised as an outlaw. Quick of wit and deft with a blade, Alwyn is content with the freedom of the woods and the comradeship of his fellow thieves. But an act of betrayal sets him on a new path - one of blood and vengeance, which eventually leads him to a soldier's life in the king's army. Fighting under the command of Lady Evadine Courlain, a noblewoman beset by visions of a demonic apocalypse, Alwyn must survive war and the deadly intrigues of the nobility if he hopes to claim his vengeance.

Legend. Myth. Nightfall has long been rumored to be nothing more than whispers on the breeze. If only it were so. In those halls of darkness, where children are taken from the world and given to shadow and dust, Asher is destined for that same fate. He will become the myth. He will become the legend. He will become the whisper of Death itself.

Vaelin Al Sorna is a living legend. It was his leadership that overthrew empires and his sacrifice that saved the Unified Realm from destruction. Now he lives a quiet life, his days of warfare behind him.Yet whispers have spread across the sea of an army called the Steel Horde, led by a man who thinks himself a god. When Vaelin learns that Sherin, the woman he lost long ago, has fallen into the Horde's grasp, he resolves to confront this powerful new threat.To this end, he travels to the realms of the Merchant Kings - a strange land ruled by honour and intrigue.

Orcs, an ancient fiend thought lost to history, have risen from The Under Realm. Their hunger for total dominance has plunged Illian into war, pushing the survivors to Namdhor, the last refuge of man at the top of the world. For those who stand up to this foe, they do so in darkness. Ash clouds smother the skies, blocking out the sun as the orcs rampage across the land.

Turned from the path of the assassin, Asher roams the world no better than a nomad, with naught to offer but his sword and grit. But woe betide the monster that believes his sword and grit will not be enough. In a twisted chance of fate, the brash actions of Doran Heavybelly—a dwarven hunter with a lot to say—forces Asher back into the world of man. And so the ranger is brought into the light, into the gaze of Illian’s greatest crime guilds and onto the lawless island of Dragorn.

War is set to ravage Illian. The elves sail from the east. The savage Darkakin rise from the south. Valanis, the dark elf, is finally free of his prison and eager to see his work finished. Only then will he be free of the gods who still haunt him. A new hope rises in The Red Mountains. There, the last remaining dragons have been discovered. Gideon and Galanör, human and elf, will have to work together if they are to convince Adriel, the last of the Dragorn order, to intervene in the coming war.

The new star of British fantasy returns with The Waking Fire, book one of the Draconis Memoria series, a thrilling new epic fantasy of exploration and adventure, spies and assassins, explosive magic and the battle for empire. For decades the lands of the Ironship Syndicate have been defended by the 'blood blessed' - men and women able to channel the powers contained in the potent blood of wild drakes. Elite spies and assassins, their loyalty has established the Syndicate's position as the greatest power in the known world. Yet now a crisis looms.

The land of Ascarlia, a fabled realm of bloodied steel and epic sagas, has been ruled by the Sister Queens for centuries. No one has dared question their rule. Until now. Whispers speak of longships of mysterious tattooed warriors, sailing under the banners of a murderous cult of oath-breakers long thought extinct. A tide of black steel that threatens to vanquish all in its path. Thera of the Blackspear, favoured servant of the Sister Queens, is ordered to uncover the truth. As Thera sails north, her reviled brother, Felnir, sets out on his own adventure.

A new world is beginning to take shape in the aftermath of The Fated War, a world that must be brought together if it is to survive. As the king and queen of Illian, it falls on Vighon and Inara Draqaro to forge this future. As they did during the war, they have allies—old friends—to call upon, heroes all who fought and bled for Verda's fragile era of peace. Among those allies are the likes of a ranger and a dragon.

It has unravelled across the ages, its web woven throughout millennia of chaos and blood. Now, all that was seen shall come to pass, and there is nothing the heroes of Verda can do to stop it. After years of planning and preparation, Alijah Galfrey is finally ready to change the world. He will break the scales of power across the realm, securing his victory and eternal reign. There is no line he will not cross; no sacrifice he will not make to bring peace to the land.

The most accomplished mountain runner of all time contemplates his record-breaking climb of Mount Everest in this profound and free-flowing memoir - an intellectual and spiritual journey that moves from the earth’s highest peak to the soul’s deepest reaches. What drives a person to the edge of one of the most difficult and revered mountains in the world? How much is one willing to sacrifice and suffer to pursue an authentic and bold life?

In a world besieged by relentless foes, the empire stands on the brink of defeat, encircled in a grip of war. Amidst the chaos and danger rises Stiger, a hero burdened with a tarnished legacy yet destined for epic greatness. With the aid of allies, the gnomes, the elves, and the Vass, Stiger has shattered the tribal armies of the Barrens and saved the garrison at Nabernacum. But his trials and tests have only just begun. Haunted by a past filled with loss and dark memories, Stiger faces his greatest challenge yet: the defeat of the malevolent wizard Amaranth.

Ben Stiger, legate of the lost Thirteenth Legion, a nobleman from an infamous family, and a born fighter, has defeated the enemy army before Lorium and raised the siege of the city. Having been named emperor, Stiger has traveled to Mal’Zeel and claimed his throne by force, spilling blood in the process and removing those who would steal his right to the Curule Chair. Stiger is now unquestionably the emperor, the last man standing. Or is he?

The Steel Horde has laid waste to the Venerable Kingdom, unleashing a storm of fire and blood. Now the leader of this mighty host - Kehlbrand, the warlord who thinks himself a god - turns his eyes to the other merchant kingdoms. No one can stop his divine conquest. No one, perhaps, except Vaelin Al Sorna. Yet Vaelin is on the run, his own army in disarray. Worse, the new blood song he has acquired is as much a curse as a blessing and seeks to guide him down a path far darker than he could have imagined....

If life has taught the jaded sellsword Aaron Envelar anything, it’s that hope is for fools and causes are a sure remedy for breathing. But when his latest job leads him to the corpse of a prince and a conspiracy that threatens to destroy the entire realm, Aaron is forced to choose sides in a war he doesn’t want, between forces he doesn’t understand. Thrust into a world of mythical assassins, a madman with superhuman strength, and a nagging ball of light with a superiority complex who claims to be the embodiment of compassion, Aaron takes on his hardest job yet - staying alive.