I went to the thrift store (shoutout Savers in New England) the other day and I found some cool books I want to start reading soon. They were all pretty cheap, less than $3 for each, so it was a very good purchase in my mind. I had different reasons for picking each one, some good and some bad.
Fall of a Kingdom by Hilari Bell
Who was Sorahb?
Stories are told of a hero who will come to Farsala's aid when the need is greatest. But for thousands of years the prosperous land of Farsala has felt no such need, as it has enjoyed the peace that comes from being both feared and respected.
Now a new enemy approaches Farsala's borders, one that neither fears nor respects its name and legend. But the rules of Farsala still believe that they can beat any opponent.
Three young people are less sure of Farsala's invincibility. Jiaan, Soraya, and Kavi see Time's Wheel turning, with Farsala headed toward the Flames of Destruction. What they cannot see is how inextricably their lives are linked to Farsala's fate -- until it's too late.
In Fall of a Kingdom, the first volume of the Farsala Trilogy, Hilari Bell introduces readers to a world of honor, danger, and magic in this spellbinding tale of self-discovery.
I read this book when I was in high school but I don't remember a single thing about it. I'm interested to read it again and find out how it is. I wonder if I'll remember if I liked it or not (I think I did but I'm not sure) as well as finding out if I like it now. It's a YA fantasy in another world, which is a jam I have enjoyed before (K A Applegate's Everworld series comes to mind.)
Starseed by Spider and Jeanne Robinson
An Earth-born dancer, Rain McLeod lived for her art. Dancing was her dream and her destiny -- until nature betrayed her body, destroying all hope that she could ever dance again...
She had one last chance:
the Starseed Foundation.As a volunteer, she trained for the ultimate step in human evolution -- joining with a symbiotic lifeform that provided all food, water and air...that allowed humans to live in the vacuum of space...and could turn a mortal like Rain into a Stardancer beyond the laws of gravity.
But every miracle has its price.
I'll be honest with you, I picked this one because the author's name is Spider. It kind of sounds like space weirdo fodder which is interesting to me because I love to study space weirdos. Goodreads is telling me it's the second one in a series I don't have the first book for, but I don't know if that will be a real problem; one of the reviews says it's set later that the other books in the series, so maybe it won't matter.
The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams
A war fueld by the dark powers of sorcery is about to engulf the peaceful land of Osten Ard -- for Prester John, the High King, slayer of the dread dragon Shurakai, lies dying. And with his death, an ancient evil will at last be unleashed, as the Storm King, undead ruler of the elvishlike Sithi, seeks to regain his lost realm through a pact with one of human royal blood. Then, driven by spell-inspired jealousy and hate, prince will fight prince, while around them the very land begins to die.
Only a small, scattered group, the League of the Scroll, recognizes the true danger awaiting Osten Ard. And to Simon -- a castle scullion unknowingly apprenticed to a member of this League -- will go the task of spearheading the quest for the solution to a riddle that offers long-lost swords of power...and a quest that will see him fleeing and facing enemies straight out of a legend-maker's worst nightmares!
I picked this one because I've read Tad Williams before. I loved his Otherland series a lot. This book was written before Otherland and is decidedly more fantasy and not at all sci-fi, but that's a vibe I can get with. I love Raymond E Feist's world, for example, and while this sounds a lot less concerned with the viewpoints of power, it does seem like a very cool concept.
The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
The Wheel of Time turns and Ages come and go, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth returns again. In the Third Age, and Age of Prophecy, the World and Time themselves hang in the balance. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow.
I picked this one because I'm a huge fan of Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archives, and people keep telling me I need to read Wheel of Time. I found this first one cheap at the thrift store, so why not grab it? I don't know if I'll like it as much as Stormlight, but I'm interested to see what's up with it.
Clash of Ice and Ruin by Val Saintcrowe
The trilogy continues!
Banyan Thriceborn thought she and Odion Naxim were destined to defeat the Frost together. But now, he has been turned into a creature of colorless eyes and white hair, a creature cold and distant, and yet -- still full of Odion's memories, still full of Odion's skill, and still obsessed with her.
Odion leads the Frost.
She must defeat him.
With Slate Nightwing at her side, they gather the remnants of the Quorum behind the walls of South Ridge Academy.
They've always known the Frost would attack them here.
The final clash awaits.
I picked this one because it looked like one of those silly Tiktok romantasy books, and I've been wanting to get into those. I love a good "bad book", they're so fun. This book also very much looks self-published, so I'm led to assume the author is trying to piggy-back off the trend with her own offerings. This is the third book in a trilogy I haven't read the other books of, but I think that'll just make it more fun that I don't know what's going on.