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★ 01/23/2017
In this brilliant debut novel, Eames creates a high-energy epic fantasy adventure straight from a heavy metal album cover. Clay Cooper’s quiet retirement following his many adventures with Saga, a band of mercenaries, is interrupted when Saga’s ex-leader, Gabriel, begs for help rescuing his daughter, Rose, who has become a mercenary in her own right and is now under siege with no hope of escape. Putting the band back together requires getting an enchanted sword out of hock, retrieving their wizard from his search for a cure for the disease that killed his husband, getting their dagger man to give up being a king, and freeing their main muscle guy from dire imprisonment. Where dignified heroes would despair, Saga rises to every occasion, whether by old skill or uncanny good luck. Eames has cranked the thrills of epic fantasy up to 11 with gleeful disregard for restraint or good sense. The world is rich and exciting, with every classic fantasy monster on hand and a few delightfully horrifying new ones. Moreover, the plot is emotionally rewarding, original, and hilarious, and boasts a satisfying conclusion while leaving room for future books. Eames clearly set out to write something fun to read, and he has succeeded spectacularly. (Mar.)
What new books are you reading this week?
A band is a family. In Kings of the Wyld, the first book in Nicholas Eames series following mercenary bands who defeat monsters and battle in the arena for fame and glory, the band is a group of men, broken by life in various ways, on a quest to recapture lost glory. The elevator pitch […]
2017: the year that became an adjective. A year during which the only status quo became the lack of one, and the only thing stranger than the day’s trending Twitter topics was the next day’s trending Twitter topics. Wherever you come down on the merits of the past 12 months, there’s no denying the fact […]
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At the end of each month, we share lists of B&N’s current bestsellers in the genre, from new hardbacks, to trade paperbacks, to mass markets and media tie-ins, to graphic novels and manga. These are the books everyone is talking about—and buying. Hardcovers