Showing results by author "JA Andrews" in All Categories

When Mallon the Undying threatened the land years ago, the elves stopped him - and then disappeared. Now Mallon's followers seek to bring him back to finish what he started. Only the Keepers - storytellers, historians, and magic-wielders - are left to stand against them. Alaric, who betrayed everything he believed to save his wife - and still failed. Will, a storyteller who’s convinced his weak magic makes him useless. And Sini, a former slave girl with unimaginable power but no way to wield it.

Sable would do anything to break free from the ruthless gang boss she's indebted to before he corrupts her younger sister or discovers Sable's magical ability to sense the truth in people's words. In a last desperate attempt at freedom, Sable stumbles into unexpected help—Atticus, the famous playwright, and his traveling theater troupe. Far more than a means of escape, the mismatched band of actors is destined to become the family Sable never knew she wanted. They help awaken her magic until she becomes the burning symbol of truth that the entire land needs.

The truth is neither plain nor simple. Sable, a reluctant thief from the slums, can feel truth when people speak. For years she’s been using that skill to try to break free from the vicious gang boss to whom she's indebted. Escape comes in the form of an odd set of companions: a dwarf running from the past, an actor with a magical, glowing tree, a too-helpful kobold, a playwright with a knack for getting stories out of people, and a man and woman with suspicious, magical powers. But Sable’s freedom is short lived.

Kate is a Keeper—a storyteller, magic-wielder, and researcher—but a single mystery has evaded her all her life: What happened on the tragic day when two strangers stole not only the puzzle box that hummed with magic but so much more? She and her brother Bo have searched for twenty years with no luck. Until Venn, a surly elf, shows up on the hidden doorstep of the Keepers' Stronghold with that same aenigma box—and a message that Bo has disappeared. Kate needs a guide back to Venn's homeland to search for him, and Venn needs to find him for reasons of her own.

The When Swords Fall Silent anthology showcases the imaginations and talents of more than a dozen of the best modern science-fiction and fantasy authors, with each tale centered around one or more characters burdened with a bloody task they will see to completion no matter the cost. Every story takes you for a vicious ride through a world of shadow and death, each as unique in perspective and execution as the contracts carried out within.

A year ago, on the land’s biggest stage, Sable’s voice nearly burned down the carefully constructed lies of the Kalesh Empire. Now, Sable’s skills are merely tools in High Prioress Vivaine’s desperate negotiations with the new Kalesh ambassador, who’s denounced Sable as a zabat. A rebel. A firestarter. Sable would love nothing more than to burn down the empire. But with threats against her sisters looming, the acting troupe driven away, and no news of Reese for a year, she’s too chained and alone to even light a spark.

I wish more of the nudges that shaped history were the gentle kind—the signing of a treaty, the commitment to protect the weak, the spreading of a story that would enlighten minds. Alas, humans are more prone to stagnate than to change willingly, and so most nudges are given with force and terror and blood. Most nudges come at the slicing of a blade or the searing of a flame. The final chapters of Sable’s beginning certainly did. More blades than I hope to see again, and the fire…who could ever forget the fire?