Touched by Venom: Book One of the Dragon Temple Saga by Janine Cross
From the back of the book: Like her half-breed mother, young Zarq Darquel can't always hold her tongue as she should. A lowly peasant on a large dragon estate in Malacar, she goes unnoticed by the watchful eye of the Temple of the Dragon, despite her rebellious ways - until she accidentally captures the attention of an eccentric and dangerous dragonmaster and unleashes a storm of tragedy. Her clan is plunged into destitution, her beautiful sister, Waivia, sold into slavery, and her mother lost to madness.
Desperate to find Waivia, Zarq and her delirious mother flee through the underworld of their land - from the Zone of the Dead to a sanctuary for outcast dragons, through discovery and persecution. Consumed with the desire for revenge, Zarq develops a taste for the highly addictive venom drawn from the dragons she has been taught to revere, and sinks into a realm of bizarre magics. Here, influenced by the divine grace of dragon memories, Zarq glimpses possibilities of revenge and social revolution. But to achieve them, she must defy not just the sexual taboos and patriarchal conventions of her society, but the Emperor who rules her nation...
Druid's Sword: Book Four of the Trow Game by Sara Douglass
From the inside cover: The year is 1940. The skies above London are filled with German planes on nightly raids, a blitz that brings a barrage of bombs that pound the city into rubble. Each morning Londoners face the previous night's handiwork, and though they are faced with the possibility of sudden death, the people of London are determined to fight the evil that threatens to destroy their nation. They struggle to live normal lives amid the terror and chaos.
But is it only Hitler's Luftwaffe and the blitz that is responsible for all the death and destruction that the city is facing?
Brutus, the Greek Kingman who brought the bands of power to the Isle of Alba a millennia ago, once again walks the streets of London, this time as an American major. The men and women who are is eternal companions (and sometimes lovers and enemies) have all been reborn in this time and place. They have come together for one last battle to finally complete the magical Labyrinth buried at the heart of the city. Half completed and resonating with an evil power, the Maze calls to them to complete the Game and find a solution that will end his age-old pain, he comes to realize that there is anew power that walks the land. It is strong and hungry, and it has its own agenda.
And by its actions it could change the world forever.
Adam Runaway: A Novel by Peter Prince
It is 1721 and young Adam Hanaway, devastated by his father's sudden death, leaves England to seek his fortune in Lisbon, where his uncle is a successful merchant. But almost nothing turns out as Adam planned. His family's welcome is cool, and Adam's rise is thwarted by his uncle's treacherous clerk and also by a certain personal trait. He's not a coward exactly, but he is inclined to boldly put himself in dangerous situations and then at the last minute run away - hence the nickname.
Adam certainly has a lot to learn. The Inquisition grips Portugal, and those who befriend Adam may not be well intentioned. His mother and sisters wait for him to rescue them from poverty, but he is distracted by a number of local beauties. Then he commits a social faux pas so severe he forever ruins his chances for making a good match. Swept up in a struggle that will require him to come into his manhood - the struggle between wickedness and humanity - it seems Adam will never find his way to success, to love, or to peace with the life fate has given him.
Outriders: The Birthright Project, Book 1 by Kathryn Mackel
From the back of the book: A new Ark. An ancient enemy. Teen warriors fighting the darkness.
Delivered through the polar ice by a whale, their journey is nothing short of miraculous, their mission, nothing short of impossible. Their quest is to reclaim God's birthright and preserve the original creation that is being mutated out of existence.
This daring team roams the blighted earth. They are Outriders, young warriors who wield swords and wits to protect the birthrighter camps. When rookie birthrighters arrive from the Ark, however, the battle turns into something no one expected. Not only must they battle the merciless warlord Alrod and his horde of gigantic mutants, but a new and more powerful enemy has revealed itself, a darkness that threatens to destroy the world they've been charged to save.
The Serpent and the Rose: The War of the Rose, Book 1 by Kathleen Bryan
From the back of the book: In the Kingdom of Lys, where magic is worked in the form of jeweled glass, the Knights of the Rose and the Ladies of the Isle guard the world against an ancient enemy. Long ago, the Serpent was imprisoned by the Young God, and the Orders still keep the secret of that prison a thousand years later. But now a traitor king is conspiring to destroy the heart and soul of his kingdom. Only Averil, heir to the duchy of Quitaine, and Gereint, the fatherless son of a peasant farmer, have the power to stand against him.
V: The Original Miniseries by Kenneth Johnson and A.C. Crispin
From the back of the book: Kenneth Johnson's Warner Bros. television miniseries V swept the nation and drew in hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide. Now the novel V is finally back in print, with and all-new, never-before-seen ending.
The alien visitors arrive without warning, their enormous spaceships hovering over fifty of the world's major cities. Their tale of an imperiled homeworld beguiles us. Their human appearance and soothing voices reassure us. Their calm promises of friendship and mutual aid lull us. The aliens fool everyone - until a suspicious journalist and a Holocaust survivor point out the chilling signs that the Visitors aren't nearly as friendly as the seem.
As with so many oppressive regimes of Earth's past and present, an ill-informed, propagandized populace becomes complicit in its subjugation, turning a blind eye to atrocities committed by their tryannical overlords. Now a small band of resistance fighters who know the aliens' true nature must stand up for all of humanity.
With nonstop action, political intrigue, and memorable characters, V is a fast-paced thriller, a cautionary tale as chillingly effective today as when first published.
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