Others: Mixed There is no escaping the Empire. Even in death, you will serve. In an Empire run on necromancy, dead sorcerers are the lifeblood. Their corpses are wrapped in chains and drained of magic to feed the unquenchable hunger for imperial conquest. Born with magic, Arienne has become resigned to her dark fate. But when the voice of a long-dead sorcerer begins to speak inside her head, she listens. There may be another future for her, if she’s willing to fight for it. Miles away, beneath a volcano, a seven-eyed dragon also wears the Empire’s chains. Before the imperial fist closed around their lands, it was the people’s sacred guardian. Loran, a widowed swordswoman, is the first to kneel before the dragon in decades. She comes with a desperate plea, and will leave with a sword of dragon-fang in hand and a great purpose before her. In the heart of the Imperial capital, Cain is known as a man who gets things done. When his best friend and mentor is found murdered, he will leave no stone unturned to find those responsible, even if it means starting a war. Step into a world of necromancy, murder, and twisted magic. A world in need of a hero.
Genres: fantasy
Lists: …
John Gwynne
2022 · 656 pages · 12 reviews
Others: Overwhelmingly positiveThe Hunger of the Gods continues John Gwynne's acclaimed Norse-inspired epic fantasy series, packed with myth, magic and bloody vengeance Lik-Rifa, the dragon god of legend, has been freed from her eternal prison. Now she plots a new age of blood and conquest. As Orka continues the hunt for her missing son, the Bloodsworn sweep south in a desperate race to save one of their own - and Varg takes the first steps on the path of vengeance. Elvar has sworn to fulfil her blood oath and rescue a prisoner from the clutches of Lik-Rifa and her dragonborn followers, but first she must persuade the Battle-Grim to follow her. Yet even the might of the Bloodsworn and Battle-Grim cannot stand alone against a dragon god. Their hope lies within the mad writings of a chained god. A book of forbidden magic with the power to raise the wolf god Ulfrir from the dead... and bring about a battle that will shake the foundations of the earth.
What made the match, strongest first
Margaret Rogerson
2019 · 464 pages · 14 reviews
Others: Leaning positiveAll sorcerers are evil. Elisabeth has known that as long as she has known anything. Raised as a foundling in one of Austermeer’s Great Libraries. Elisabeth has grown up among the tools of sorcery-magical grimoires that whisper on shelves and rattle beneath iron chains. If provoked, they transform into grotesque monsters of ink and leather. She hopes to become a warden, charged with protecting the kingdom from their power.
What made the match, strongest first
Duncan M. Hamilton
2019 · 304 pages · 3 reviews
Others: PositiveA dangerous tale of lost magics, unlikely heroes, and reawakened dragons. Once a member of the King's personal guard, Guillot dal Villevauvais spends most days drinking and mourning his wife and child. He's astonished- and wary- when the Prince Bishop orders him to find and destroy a dragon. He and the Prince Bishop have never exactly been friends and Gill left the capital in disgrace five years ago. So why him? And, more importantly, how is there a dragon to fight when the beasts were hunted to extinction centuries ago by the ancient Chevaliers of the Silver Circle? On the way to the capitol city, Gill rescues Sol ne, a young barmaid, who is about to be burned as a witch. He believes her innocent...but she soon proves that she has plenty of raw, untrained power, a problem in this land, where magic is forbidden. Yet the Prince Bishop believes magic will be the key to both destroying the dragon and replacing the young, untried King he pretends to serve with a more pliable figurehead. Between Gill's rusty swordsmanship and Solene's unstable magic, what could go wrong?
What made the match, strongest first
Robert Jordan
1991 · 648 pages · 11 reviews
Others: Mostly positiveThe Dragon Reborn—the leader long prophesied who will save the world, but in the saving destroy it; the savior who will run mad and kill all those dearest to him—is on the run from his destiny. Able to touch the One Power, but unable to control it, and with no one to teach him how—for no man has done it in three thousand years—Rand al'Thor knows only that he must face the Dark One. But how? Winter has stopped the war—almost—yet men are dying, calling out for the Dragon. But where is he? Perrin Aybara is in pursuit with Moiraine Sedai, her Warder Lan, and Loial the Ogier. Bedeviled by dreams, Perrin is grappling with another deadly problem—how is he to escape the loss of his own humanity? Egwene, Elayne and Nynaeve are approaching Tar Valon, where Mat will be healed—if he lives until they arrive. But who will tell the Amyrlin their news—that the Black Ajah, long thought only a hideous rumor, is all too real? They cannot know that in Tar Valon far worse awaits... Ahead, for all of them, in the Heart of the Stone, lies the next great test of the Dragon reborn....
What made the match, strongest first
R. F. Kuang
2025 · 560 pages · 9 reviews
Others: Leaning positiveCatabase, nom féminin, du grec ancien katábasis : descente du héros aux Enfers. Alice Law a tout donné pour réussir : son énergie, son temps et sa santé mentale. Doctorante en magie analytique à Cambridge, son unique objectif est d'être titularisée et légitimer ainsi son talent de magicienne. Seul obstacle dans son parcours, son directeur de thèse, l'éminent Jacob Grimes, meurt dans un accident aux circonstances douteuses. De ce postulat découle une solution logique : Alice doit descendre en Enfer retrouver celui dont son destin dépend. Mais elle n'est pas seule à entreprendre ce voyage. Son plus grand rival, Peter Murdoch, le génie flegmatique, décide de l'accompagner dans sa descente. Alliés de longue date ou concurrents en puissance, les deux étudiants devront mettre de côté leurs différends s'ils veulent venir à bout des Huit Cours de l'Enfer. Car en ce lieu hanté par les Ombres, les secrets des uns deviennent les hymnes de douleur des autres. Traduit de l'anglais par Michel Pagel Praises : “Riche en allusions et en illusions, Kuang crée une aventure pleine d'esprit, sanglante et poignante qui met à mal les dangers et les structures de pouvoir du monde universitaire, sans jamais perdre de vue ce qui se cache derrière la fragilité du cœur humain.” Leigh Bardugo, autrice de La Neuvième Maison et du Grishaverse “Une histoire captivante et poignante qui m'a tenue en haleine jusqu'à la dernière page, Katabasis de R. F. Kuang est plus qu'un roman à savourer. Ce livre est une expérience. J'envie ceux qui vont le lire pour la première fois.” Rebecca Ross, autrice de Divines Rivalités
What made the match, strongest first
Guy Gavriel Kay
2010 · 3 reviews
Others: Leaning positiveWhat made the match, strongest first
Mixedthis one I adore in premise the idea of using the bodies of these Sorcerers to run the electricity and the power of this nation I adore the darkness of that concept it's something that immediately drew me and this one suffers a touch in my mind with the translation or at least it appears to that I didn't love the writing and the storytelling I felt overly simplified
