Kirkus Best SFF Books of 2016 'Will keep you turning the pages late at night' – Pierce Brown on The Emperor's Blades Death is near, armies are gathered and the future rests on a knife-edge The Annurian Empire is losing a war on two fronts - and it's unclear who's in command. Adare is stationed in the thick of battle, calling herself Emperor. However, she can't hold back the nomadic Urghul forces forever. She needs her brilliant general, Ran il Tornja, but will he betray her again? Adare's brother Kaden is the true heir, yet he'll accept a republic to save his divided people. And he faces something more terrible than war. He's unmasked Ran il Tornja as a remnant of an ancient race, one that attempted to destroy mankind. The general now plans to finish what they started. Kaden has also discovered that capricious gods walk the earth in human guise - and their agendas may seal the fates of all. 'Deeply satisfying' – Kirkus Reviews The Last Mortal Bond is the epic conclusion to the Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne trilogy by Brian Staveley.

The gripping conclusion to Amelia Atwater-Rhodes’s Mancer trilogy, Of the Mortal Realm finds the city of Kavet cast into the middle of the final showdown between the infernal Abyssi and the divine Numini. It is battle that could reshape the world . . . and a battle not all will survive. Hansa, Umber, and Cadmia have managed to fight their way out of the Abyss and return to Kavet, bringing with them the long-imprisoned Terre Verte. Prince Verte is determined to return Kavet to its former magical strength and restore the royal reign of the Terre family. He has the ability; his stay in the Abyss has left him abundantly powerful. But it has also left him dangerously unstable. But when Naples, once the strongest Abyssumancer in Kavet—and former ally of Verte—also returns from the Abyss, Hansa and the others realize it is not Verte they need to be concerned with. For the Abyssi and the Numini are engaged in their own grand war, one that is pouring across the veils of the realms. And if the magic-users cannot come together to stop them, the fabric of the mortal world will be destroyed, taking all of them with it.

The trilogy that began with The Emperor's Blades and continued in The Providence of Fire reaches its epic conclusion. "Deeply satisfying" Kirkus "Staveley shows how to end a fantasy epic with The Last Mortal Bond" Io9 Death is near, armies are gathered, and the future rests on a knife-edge. The Annurian Empire is losing a war on two fronts - and it's unclear who is in command. Adare is stationed in the thick of battle and now calls herself Emperor. However, she can't hold back the nomadic Urgul forces for much longer. She needs her brilliant general, Ran il Tornja, but will he betray her again? Her brother Kaden is the true heir, yet he'll accept a Republic to save his divided people. And he faces something even more terrible than war. He's unmasked Ran il Tornja as a remnant of an ancient race who attempted to destroy mankind. The general plans to finish what they started, and is amassing all the power he needs. The empire calls on the Kettral, its toughest soldiers, but their order has been decimated. Its last fighters are in disarray, but could they still turn the tide of war? Most disturbingly of all, capricious gods walk the earth in human guise. And their desires could seal the fate of a world. PRAISE FOR THE LAST MORTAL BOND "A truly epic tale full of memorable characters, clever politics, an intelligent magic system, brutal battle scenes, and witty dialogue" Fantasy Faction "One of the most brutal, gut-wrenching, raw, emotional, masterfully told, brilliantly plotted, beautifully written series I have ever had the pleasure of reading" The Book Eaters "The perfect ending to a fantastic trilogy" Beauty in Ruins "Darker and fiercer than the other two books [...] the way Staveley crafts the ending, bringing everything together, is just masterful" Speculative Herald

Wrapped in the mists of Avalon since the Middle Ages, the Once and Future King made his promised return in the nineteenth century. The Return of King Arthur: The Legend through Victorian Eyes celebrates the unprecedented revival of the Arthurian legend in the arts and popular culture of Victorian Britain (1837-1901). In a rich array of poetry, painting, children's stories, and plays, Arthur and his noble knights and ladies were reborn. The legend was not simply revived: the new generation reinvented the saga and its heroes in their own image, creating metaphors for their notions of monarchy, the roles of men and women in society, and the proper path for children to follow. In The Return of King Arthur, Debra N. Mancoff reveals why the legend resonated so deeply during Victoria's reign. Retold in the poetry of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, William Morris, and Sir Walter Scott, and envisioned in the paintings of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and in book illustrations by such artists as Arthur Rackham and Aubrey Beardsley, the legend of King Arthur and his compatriots in chivalry became the code for every facet of Victorian culture. Informative and entertaining, and handsomely illustrated with more than 130 evocative and heroic works of art, The Return of King Arthur captures the romance of this age-old legend and shows us how the Victorian words and images have shaped our own great interest in it today.