Search Worlds Without End

Kami Khazud is a member of an acrobatic troupe led by his famous father. While Kami is a fine acrobat, he knows this is not his "kazuh", his spirit force, special talent or destiny. In this elegant feudal society, where nobles have absolute rights over the peasant class and intrigue is a way of life, Kami and his troupe must walk more than one kind of tightrope to survive...

When a noble known to have abused Kami is murdered, Kami must first prove his innocence and find the murderer. D'Shai presents a fascinating, dangerously subtle society whose complexity is reminiscent of medieval Japan or the Byzantine court.

In an ancient world of magic, Kami, the Discoverer-of-Truth, must use his detective skills to investigate the murder of a nobleman on the eve of a royal wedding, a crime in which the bridegroom becomes the prime suspect.

Captives of Sorcery...

It began as just another evening of fantasy gaming with James, Karl, Andrea, and the rest ready to assume their various roles as wizard, cleric, warrior, or thief. But sorcerous gamemaster Professor Deighton had something else planned for this unsuspecting group of college students. And the "game" soon became a matter of life and death as the seven adventurers found themselves transported to an alternate world and into the bodies of the actual characters they had been pretending to be.

Cast into a land where magic worked all too well, dragons were a fire-breathing menace, and only those quick enough with a sword or their wits survived, the young gamers faced a terrible task. For the only way they would ever see Earth again was if they could find the legendary Gate Between Worlds - a place guarded by the most terrifying and deadly enemy of all....

WARRIOR, WIZARD, DWARF, THIEF, AND MASTER BUILDER all of them had chosen this world as their destiny, a realm where dragons were only too real and magic, not science, was the law of the land. Karl, Andrea, Ahira, Walter, and Lou knew there was no going back to twentieth-century America now. Instead they were stranded in a time and place where only healing spells and their own wits stood between them and the sharp, deadly edge of a slaver's blade.

But even if they could have returned home by some sorcerous trick, all of them would have refused the chance, bound by their pledge to bring this incredible realm the one treasure it lacked -freedom! But leagued against them in their fight were the entire forces of both Wizards and the Slavers guilds. And, in this world where a wrong step or a twisted spell could transform friend into foe, how could Karl and his band fulfill their pledge?

The stronghold called Home was prospering, and Karl's dream of bringing freedom to everyone in this land, peopled by wizards, warriors, lords and slaves, dwarfs and elves, and dragons, was at last coming true. But by attacking slaver caravans, by offering Home as a haven to any eager to throw off their chains, Karl, Andrea, Ahira, and their comrades had made many powerful enemies.

Led by the evil Ahrmin, the Slaver Guild was stirring the kingdoms into a bloody war in which Karl and his friends might soon have to choose sides. And the elfin kingdom of Therranj claimed Karl's valley sanctuary as part of its own territory and was demanding both tribute and loyalty from the people of Home.

Caught between slaver forces armed with a magical new weapon and elves attempting to steal the treasured secret of gunpowder, could Karl's human, dwarf, elf, and dragon warriors keep the walls of Home standing for long?

Karl Cullinane and his fellow Earth-exiles Andrea, Ahira, Walter, and Lou had succeeded beyond their wildest expectations in the years since a wizard's spell had cast them into an alternate world where magic and dragons were real. Now Karl was Emperor and his son Jason was of an age to begin learning the realities if war and leadership. And with the aid of dwarves, elves, humans, and one sarcastic dragon, Karl and his friends had freed many from the evil specter of slavery and were pledged to fight till slavery was at an end.

But their actions had made them some extremely powerful enemies, chief among whom was Ahrmin of the Slaver's Guild. And for Ahrmin the time of final reckoning had at last arrived.

With or without the aid of the Guild, he would draw sword and take blood vengeance on Karl and Jason Cullinane and all they held dear....

The word arrives that Karl Cullinane is dead. Jason, his son and heir, assumes command. He leads the inner circle of warriors and the dragon Ellegon against the evil Slaver's Guild. Then Jason learns his father still lives. When a dwarf appears, signaling death, Jason faces a choice and the full weight of kingship.

As magic from Faerie begins to creep into This Side, the border town of Ehvenor becomes the site of a battle between Jason Cullinane's warriors and the invading forces of sorcery.

The Road to Ehvenor is the sixth installment of the Guardians of the Flame series.

Hoping to intercept his bitter best friend's crusade to kill off all the slave masters in the land and keep the legend of the Warrior alive, baron Jason Cullinane is unaware that his search will force him into a dangerous pact.

Kethol -- The pretty fellow, a long and lanky redhead with an easy smile and an easygoing attitude that his clever eyes deny. He is quick with a quick... and quicker with a sword.

Durine -- The big man, a head taller than most and twice as wide, built like a barrel, with a loyal heart and hands too thick to use anything more delicate than an ax handle.

Pirojil -- The ugly one, his face heavy-jawed, with an eye ridge that would mark him as a Neanderthal only to the most gracious. But looks deceive, and his might be the rarest gift of all.

Athos, Porthos, and Aramis they're not.

Several of them, in fact. He's the heir to an empire-but he doesn't want to be. And nobody believes that he could or would walk away, and give the job of ruling the kingdom to someone else.

In this roller coaster of a sequel to Not Exactly the Three Musketeers, it looks like the stage is set for a major shake-up in the kingdom. Jason's help in keeping everything from blowing up are the self-appointed soldiers of the errant Jason, sent by that wily off-worlder Walter Slovotsky to keep Jason in one piece... more or less.

There's Kethol, the long and lanky redhead with an easy smile, who's quick with a quip and quicker with a sword; Pirojil, the ugly one, whose looks deceive and whose might and loyalty are worth a kingdom; and the fledgling wizard Erenor, a man who tries to stay two steps ahead of his enemies--as well as one step ahead of his friends. They're all part of the Cullinane retinue, sworn to protect the Cullinane manse and the sometimes-heroic Jason Cullinane and they have their hands full.

Because no one likes a vacuum--or one too many contenders for power, Jason's soldiers are going to have to do some fast adventuring to make it all turn out all right.

Next in Joel Rosenberg's bestselling Guardians of the Flame series, Not Quite Scaramouche continues the adventures of the journeyman soldiers of Castle Cullinane (and their sometimes ill-fated leader) in all their raucous glory.

Kethol is an adventurer with an easy smile, a man who is quick with a quip and quicker with a sword.

His partner, Pirojil, the ugly one, looks impressive and deceives people into thinking he's stupid to their sorrow-for his might and loyalty are worth a kingdom.

And the fledgling wizard Erenor, a man who tries to stay two steps ahead of his enemies, as well as one step ahead of his friends.

Loyal retainers they are, sworn to Jason Cullianane, a man who walked away from a crown, and who has been trying to convince all the almost-warring factions that he doesn't want the job back. Their lives aren't very easy, what with keeping Jason from getting killed by yet another conspiracy, rescuing some damsel or whatnot in distress, and squirreling away something for the ever-diminishing prospect of retirement.

And now it looks like our heroes might wind up succeeding in none of their schemes, for there are plots within plots, and Kethol has been forced into a disguise not of his own making. There is magic aplenty in the air (and on the ground), and in order to save a kingdom, they may have to pull off a complicated scheme that could kill them all--or land them in positions of supreme power.

But, hey, whoever said that a soldier's life was a cakewalk?

Set in Joel Rosenberg's bestselling Guardians of the Flame series, Not Really the Prisoner of Zenda is the third adventure of the journeymen soldiers of Castle Cullianane (and their sometimes ill-fated leader) in all their raucous glory. A fun, fast-paced read, it's a rollicking roller coaster of a book that will have fantasy fans reaching for more.

When strange wolf-like creatures kidnap his girlfriend and his mother, Torrie and his friend Ian Silverstein join Torrie's father Thorsen and the mysterious "Uncle Hosea" on a rescue mission via a passageway to the exotic world from which Hosea and Thorsen had fled two decades earlier. Once entering the world of The Hidden Ways, they must battle gods, monsters and men, including the sinister Fire Duke, who seeks ultimate power and control of magical gems that can destroy the universe. Intrigue, swordplay and courage all loom large in this first novel of The Keeper of the Hidden Ways trilogy by bestselling author Joel Rosenberg, called by Mike Resnick "a major star in the fantasy firmament."

Ian Silverstein and an old army vet from Hardwood, North Dakota make their way through a hidden passageway to Tir Na Nog to find more of the seven jewels that can shape the universe. They are followed soonafter by four friends, including Tir Na Nog natives Thorsen and the mysterious Hosea. Odin sends Ian on a mission, supposedly to broker peace between two strongholds, that places Ian in great danger, and Ian learns that gods like Odin can mislead humans for their own strange reasons. Ian's challenges include overcoming the demons within himself as well as defeating foes in the magical world of The Hidden Ways.

Ian Silverstein returns to the magical land of the Hidden Ways in search of some of the "Brisingamen" gems that can shape or destroy the universe -- and to keep them out of the hands of the likes of the trickster god Loki. Many surprises ensue, and Ian must make some tough choices and survive the deadly intrigues of the powerful lords in Tir Na Nog.

Sorcery and swordplay as well as psychological depth are present in this series that Booklist called an "excellent and intelligent fantasy adventure".

In Midkemia, there are no easy roads . . .

For twenty years the mercenaries Durine, Kethol, and Pirojil have fought other people's battles. Having already defeated the Tsurani, the Bugs, and the goblins, it seems there are no more enemies for them to vanquish-even as the Riftwar rages on in the west. What lies ahead for the able trio are a few welcomed months of restful garrison duty.

When ordered to accompany the promiscuous Lady Mondegreen, her aging husband, and her current lover to a summit in the city of LaMut, the Three Swords willingly comply, expecting an uncomplicated and undemanding assignment. But nothing is straightforward in this land of violence and treachery. And when the fury of a winter's storm traps them inside a castle teeming with ambitious, plotting lords and ladies, the mercenaries suddenly find themselves with a series of cold-blooded murders to solve . . . and the political future of Midkemia resting in their hands.

Elwere - city of rainbows, where the fortunes of the planet Oroga are concentrated in the grasping hands of the privileged few. To David, stolen from Elwere as a baby and raised as a thief of the Lower City, it is a dream of paradise, a treasure trove to which he must find the key, no matter what the cost... And Eschteef - a schrift of the jewel-and-precious-metals schtann, twice the size of a human, more than twice as strong, with frightfully glowing eyes and rows of needle-sharp teeth. It, too, has a dream, a dream of which David has suddenly become the crucial focus. And once a schrift has chosen, nothing can change its path.

Elwere or the Alien - two different roads to the future, leading to either wealth and power - or death...

The crudest, most ruthless officer in the Thousand World Contact Service, Major Alonzo Norfeldt - alias the Dutchman - finds himself pitted against the most cunning and deadly of intergalactic aliens... while partnered with an idiotic greenhorn.

Metzada is an inhospitable planet of Epsilon Indi whose inhabitants - most descendants from refugees forced to leave Israel - can survive only because its men are highly skilled mercenaries, Metzada's one export that brings in revenue. When young Ari Hanavi freezes in combat twice, he has one last chance to survive and even become a "hero".

Scenes of battle, military command, and operations are expertly portrayed in this novel about a young man who must overcome his terror while dealing with his fellow soldiers and fighting an enemy force. Set in the same world as Not for Glory, which David Drake called "a swift-paced, brutal, excellent political novel about the soldier of the future".

Metzada is an inhospitable planet of Epsilon Indi whose inhabitants -- most descendants from refugees forced to leave Israel -- can survive only because its men are highly skilled mercenaries, Metzada's one export that brings in revenue. When young Ari Hanavi freezes in combat twice, he has one last chance to survive and even become a "hero". Scenes of battle, military command and operations are expertly portrayed in this novel about a young man who must overcome his terror while dealing with his fellow soldiers and fighting an enemy force.

Set in the same world as Not for Glroy, which David Drake called "a swift-paced, brutal, excellent political novel about the soldier of the future".

Every schoolboy knows that Mordred the Great defeated King Arthur the Tyrant in the twelfth century, and Mordred's heirs had preserved the British crown through the Age of Crisis, and extended its reach halfway across the globe. By the 17th century, much of Europe, Asia and the New world was ruled from Londinium by the the kings of the Pendragon dynasty, protecting the Crown against the still-powerful Holy Roman Empire as much as the onset of the Dar Al Islam. The ragged band of outlaws that had been created as Mordred the Great's bodyguards had, over the centuries, become the paladins of the Order of Crown, Shield, and Dragon, dedicated to the Pendragons, each one taking the vow of "Service, honor, faith, obedience. Justice tempered only by mercy; mercy tempered only by justice."

But knights of the Order had more than vows to preserve the Crown. During the Age of Crisis, the Great Wizards had forged live swords to be weapons of the Order knights. Weapons of such power that could be trusted to no lesser mortals, because White swords held the souls of saints, while the Red swords imprisoned the souls of those who were anything but saints, and in the wrong hands, Red swords were capable of unspeakable destruction.

The art of making live swords had perished with the Great Wizards at end of the Age of Crisis.

Or so everyone thought.

But now, as the Crown, the Empire, and the Dar Al Islam sit astride the world in a precarious balance, three knights of the Order have discovered a brand new, previously unknown Red sword which has been very recently forged.

Worse, the tortured soul imprisoned in the sword remembers that it was only one of many which were cached in the hold of a mysterious sailing ship, origin unknown, and destination uncertain....

Every schoolboy knows the history: in the twelfth century, Mordred the Great defeated his father. King Arthur - known as "Arthur the Tyrant"--and founded the Pendragon Empire. Now, half a millenium later, the Empire's flag flies over much of Europe, Asia, and the New World, ably defended by the knights of the Order of Crown, Shield, and Dragon, who carry swords, each containing the soul of someone of great power. These are no ordinary swords, for a single red sword can defeat an army or leave a city in flaming ruins.

But now, as if manipulated by some unseen masterminds, supernatural menaces are threatening the empire. This time, even the knights and their swords of power may not be enough to hold back the forces of darkness....

".... the seafaring action is convincing and detailed, the characters are appealing.... [Readers] should be well satisfied with the promise of more tales to come."