Aconite Cafe presents the Top Fantasy Novels

1. 41 - 60

2. 41. The Masquerade Series
By Seth Dickinson
Tomorrow, on the beach, Baru Cormorant will look up and see red sails on
the horizon.
The Empire of Masks is coming, armed with coin and ink, doctrine and
compass, soap and lies. They will conquer Baru’s island, rewrite her culture,
criminalize her customs, and dispose of one of her fathers. But Baru is
patient. She’ll swallow her hate, join the Masquerade, and claw her way
high enough up the rungs of power to set her people free.

3. 42. The Divine Cities
By Robert Jackson Bennett
The city of Bulikov once wielded the powers of the gods to conquer the
world, enslaving and brutalizing millions—until its divine protectors were
killed. Now Bulikov has become just another colonial outpost of the world’s
new geopolitical power, but the surreal landscape of the city itself—first
shaped, now shattered, by the thousands of miracles its guardians once
worked upon it—stands as a constant, haunting reminder of its former
supremacy.

4. 43. Good Omens
By Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman
According to The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (the
world’s only completely accurate book of prophecies, written in 1655,
before she exploded), the world will end on a Saturday. Next Saturday, in
fact. Just before dinner.
So the armies of Good and Evil are amassing, Atlantis is rising, frogs are
falling, tempers are flaring. Everything appears to be going according to
Divine Plan. Except a somewhat fussy angel and a fast-living demon—both
of whom have lived amongst Earth’s mortals since The Beginning and have
grown rather fond of the lifestyle—are not actually looking forward to the
coming Rapture.
And someone seems to have misplaced the Antichrist . . .

5. 44. Ender’s Game
By Orson Scott Card
In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race’s next
attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as
soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew “Ender” Wiggin lives with his kind
but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more
than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates
for the soldier-training program but didn’t make the cut–young Ender is the
Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.

6. 45. The Bartimaeus Series
By Jonathan Stroud
Nathaniel is a magician’s apprentice, taking his first lessons in the arts of
magic. But when a devious hot-shot wizard named Simon Lovelace
ruthlessly humiliates Nathaniel in front of his elders, Nathaniel decides to
kick up his education a few notches and show Lovelace who’s boss. With
revenge on his mind, he summons the powerful djinni, Bartimaeus. But
summoning Bartimaeus and controlling him are two different things entirely,
and when Nathaniel sends the djinni out to steal Lovelace’s greatest
treasure, the Amulet of Samarkand, he finds himself caught up in a
whirlwind of magical espionage, murder, and rebellion.

7. 46. Codex Alera
By Jim Butcher
For a thousand years, the people of Alera have united against the aggressive
and threatening races that inhabit the world, using their unique bond with
the furies—elementals of earth, air, fire, water, wood, and metal. But in the
remote Calderon Valley, the boy Tavi struggles with his lack of furycrafting.
At fifteen, he has no wind fury to help him fly, no fire fury to light his lamps.
Yet as the Alerans’ most savage enemy—the Marat horde—return to the
Valley, Tavi’s courage and resourcefulness will be a power greater than any
fury, one that could turn the tides of war…

8. 47. Chronicles of the Unhewn Throne
By Brian Staveley
In The Emperor’s Blades by Brian Staveley, the emperor of Annur is dead,
slain by enemies unknown. His daughter and two sons, scattered across the
world, do what they must to stay alive and unmask the assassins. But each
of them also has a life-path on which their father set them, destinies
entangled with both ancient enemies and inscrutable gods.
Kaden, the heir to the Unhewn Throne, has spent eight years sequestered in
a remote mountain monastery, learning the enigmatic discipline of monks
devoted to the Blank God. Their rituals hold the key to an ancient power he
must master before it’s too late.

9. 48. Watership Down
By Richard Adams
A phenomenal worldwide bestseller for over thirty years, Richard Adams’s
Watership Down is a timeless classic and one of the most beloved novels of
all time. Set in England’s Downs, a once idyllic rural landscape, this stirring
tale of adventure, courage and survival follows a band of very special
creatures on their flight from the intrusion of man and the certain
destruction of their home. Led by a stouthearted pair of friends, they
journey forth from their native Sandleford Warren through the harrowing
trials posed by predators and adversaries, to a mysterious promised land
and a more perfect society.
It has been centuries since the fall of the ten consecrated orders known as
the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical
swords and suits of armor that transform ordinary men into near-invincible
warriors. Men trade kingdoms for Shardblades. Wars were fought for them,
and won by them.

10. 49. The Belgariad Universe
By David Eddings
Raised on a quiet farm by his Aunt Pol, Garion spends his days lounging in
his aunt’s warm kitchen and playing in the surrounding fields with his
friends. He has never believed in magic, despite the presence of a cloaked,
shadowless stranger who has haunted him from a distance for years. But
one afternoon, the wise storyteller Wolf appears and urges Garion and his
aunt to leave the farm that very night. Without understanding why, Garion is
whisked away from the only home he has ever known—and thrown into
dark and unfamiliar lands.
Thus begins an extraordinary quest to stop a reawakened evil from
devouring all that is good. It is a journey that will lead Garion to discover his
heritage and his future. For the magic that once seemed impossible to
Garion is now his destiny.

11. 50. Dragonriders of Pern
By Anne McCaffrey
On a beautiful world called Pern, an ancient way of life is about to come
under attack from a myth that is all too real. Lessa is an outcast survivor—
her parents murdered, her birthright stolen—a strong young woman who
has never stopped dreaming of revenge. But when an ancient threat to Pern
reemerges, Lessa will rise—upon the back of a great dragon with whom she
shares a telepathic bond more intimate than any human connection.
Together, dragon and rider will fly . . . and Pern will be changed forever.

12. 51. The Stand
By Stephen King
This is the way the world ends: with a nanosecond of computer error in a
Defense Department laboratory and a million casual contacts that form the
links in a chain letter of death.
And here is the bleak new world of the day after: a world stripped of its
institutions and emptied of 99 percent of its people. A world in which a
handful of panicky survivors choose sides — or are chosen. A world in which
good rides on the frail shoulders of the 108-year-old Mother Abagail — and
the worst nightmares of evil are embodied in a man with a lethal smile and
unspeakable powers: Randall Flagg, the dark man.

13. 52. The Demon Cycle
By Peter V. Brett
For hundreds of years the demons have terrorized the night, slowly culling
the human herd that shelters behind magical wards—symbols of power
whose origins are lost in myth and whose protection is terrifyingly fragile. It
was not always this way. Once, men and women battled the corelings on
equal terms, but those days are gone. Night by night the demons grow
stronger, while human numbers dwindle under their relentless assault. Now,
with hope for the future fading, three young survivors of vicious demon
attacks will dare the impossible, stepping beyond the crumbling safety of
the wards to risk everything in a desperate quest to regain the secrets of the
past. Together, they will stand against the night.

14. 53. The Sandman Series
By Neil Gaiman
NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Neil Gaiman’s transcendent series
SANDMAN is often hailed as the definitive Vertigo title and one of the finest
achievements in graphic storytelling. Gaiman created an unforgettable tale
of the forces that exist beyond life and death by weaving ancient mythology,
folklore and fairy tales with his own distinct narrative vision.

15. 54. The Legend of Drizzt
By Eliezer Yudkowsky
For years, the Legend of Drizzt has included short stories published
in Forgotten Realms® anthologies and Dragon™ magazine. Collected here
for the first time are all the classic stories—and one all new tale—by The
New York Times best-selling author R.A. Salvatore!
From the startling origin of Drizzt’s panther companion, to the tale of
Jarlaxle and Entreri’s first encounter with the dragon sisters, the tales
in The Collected Stories enrich this epic series, and many are available here
for the first time in years.

16. 55. Hainish Cycle
By Ursula K. Le Guin
Publisher: Ace Books, Inc. Fantasy. Number #73294. Original price $1.95.
The peaceful planet called Fomalhaut II, peopled with lovely dark-skinned,
golden-haried humanoids, elvish Fiia, and mysterious Clayfolk, was just an
interesting assignment to anthropologist Rocannon — until an invading
force attacked the planet with a technology the natives could not hope to
match.

17. 56. Winternight Trilogy
By Katherine Arden
Winter lasts most of the year at the edge of the Russian wilderness, and in
the long nights, Vasilisa and her siblings love to gather by the fire to listen to
their nurse’s fairy tales. Above all, Vasya loves the story of Frost, the blue-
eyed winter demon. Wise Russians fear him, for he claims unwary souls, and
they honor the spirits that protect their homes from evil.
Then Vasya’s widowed father brings home a new wife from Moscow.
Fiercely devout, Vasya’s stepmother forbids her family from honoring their
household spirits, but Vasya fears what this may bring. And indeed,
misfortune begins to stalk the village.

18. 57. The Dragonlance Chronicles Trilogy
By Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman
More than three million readers have witnessed the return of the
dragons…And now the books that began the best-selling ‘dragonlance’ saga
are collected in their entirety in this special edition, along with all of the
artwork from the trilogy. This splendid collector’s edition is a must for the
millions of readers who fell in love with the fantasy world of Krynn.

19. 58. The Chronicles of Prydain
By Lloyd Alexander
Since The Book of Three was first published in 1964, young readers have
been enthralled by the adventures of Taran the Assistant Pig-Keeper and his
quest to become a hero. Taran is joined by an engaging cast of characters
that includes Eilonwy, the strong-willed and sharp-tongued princess;
Fflewddur Fflam, the hyperbole-prone bard; the ever-faithful Gurgi; and the
curmudgeonly Doli―all of whom have become involved in an epic struggle
between good and evil that shapes the fate of the legendary land of
Prydain. Released over a period of five years, Lloyd Alexander’s beautifully
written tales not only captured children’s imaginations but also garnered the
highest critical praise.

20. 59. The Vampire Chronicle
By Anne Rice
Here are the confessions of a vampire. Hypnotic, shocking, and chillingly
erotic, this is a novel of mesmerizing beauty and astonishing force—a story
of danger and flight, of love and loss, of suspense and resolution, and of the
extraordinary power of the senses. It is a novel only Anne Rice could write.

21. 60. The Books of the Raksura
By Martha Wells
Moon has spent his life hiding what he is — a shape-shifter able to
transform himself into a winged creature of flight. An orphan with only
vague memories of his own kind, Moon tries to fit in among the tribes of his
river valley, with mixed success. Just as Moon is once again cast out by his
adopted tribe, he discovers a shape-shifter like himself… someone who
seems to know exactly what he is, who promises that Moon will be
welcomed into his community. What this stranger doesn’t tell Moon is that
his presence will tip the balance of power… that his extraordinary lineage is
crucial to the colony’s survival… and that his people face extinction at the
hands of the dreaded Fell! Now Moon must overcome a lifetime of
conditioning in order to save and himself… and his newfound kin.