arte por ladypingu

• Kate Elliott

The Kingdom of Wendar is in turmoil. King Henry still holds the crown, but his reign has long been contested by his sister Sabella, and there are many eager to flock to her banner. Internal conflict weakens Wendar's defences, drawing raiders, human and inhuman, across its borders. Terrifying portents abound and dark spirits walk the land in broad daylight.
Suddenly two innocents are thrust into the midst of the conflict. Alain, a young man granted a vision by the Lady of Battles, and Liath, a young woman with the power to change the course of history. Both must discover the truth about themselves before they can accept their fates. For in a war where sorcery, not swords, may determine the final outcome, the price of failure may be more than their own lives. 

• Elizabeth Bear 

Temur, grandson of the Great Khan, is walking away from a battlefield where he was left for dead. All around lie the fallen armies of his cousin and his brother, who made war to rule the Khaganate. Temur is now the legitimate heir by blood to his grandfather’s throne, but he is not the strongest. Going into exile is the only way to survive his ruthless cousin.
Once-Princess Samarkar is climbing the thousand steps of the Citadel of the Wizards of Tsarepheth. She was heir to the Rasan Empire until her father got a son on a new wife. Then she was sent to be the wife of a Prince in Song, but that marriage ended in battle and blood. Now she has renounced her worldly power to seek the magical power of the wizards. These two will come together to stand against the hidden cult that has so carefully brought all the empires of the Celadon Highway to strife and civil war through guile and deceit and sorcerous power.

• Ursula K. Le Guin 

Ged, the greatest sorcerer in all Earthsea, was called Sparrowhawk in his reckless youth.
Hungry for power and knowledge, Sparrowhawk tampered with long-held secrets and loosed a terrible shadow upon the world. This is the tale of his testing, how he mastered the mighty words of power, tamed an ancient dragon, and crossed death's threshold to restore the balance.

• Robin Hobb

O jovem Fitz é o filho bastardo do nobre Príncipe Cavalaria e foi criado pelo cocheiro de seu pai, à sombra da corte real. Ele é tratado como um penetra por todos na realeza, com exceção do Rei Sagaz, que faz com que ele seja secretamente treinado na arte do assassinato. Porque nas veias de Fitz corre a mágica do Talento – e o conhecimento obscuro de um garoto criado em um estábulo, entre cães, e rejeitado por sua família. Quando assaltantes bárbaros invadem a costa, Fitz está se tornando um homem. Logo ele enfrentará sua primeira missão, perigosa e que despedaçará sua alma. E embora alguns o vejam como uma ameaça ao trono, ele pode ser a chave para a sobrevivência do reino.

• Anne McCaffrey

Anne Inez McCaffrey ou apenas Anne McCaffrey foi a primeira mulher a ganhar um Hugo e um Nebula, dois dos mais importantes prêmios de ficção especulativa. Ela faleceu em 2011 com 81 anos, dos quais 46 foram dedicados a sua carreira como escritora. McCaffrey é conhecida principalmente pela série ficção científica/fantasia/ficção científica e fantasia (classificação depende de quem você pergunta) Dragonriders of Pern, da qual Dragonflight é o primeiro livro.

HOW CAN ONE GIRL SAVE AN ENTIRE WORLD?
To the nobles who live in Benden Weyr, Lessa is nothing but a ragged kitchen girl. For most of her life she has survived by serving those who betrayed her father and took over his lands. Now the time has come for Lessa to shed her disguise—and take back her stolen birthright.
But everything changes when she meets a queen dragon. The bond they share will be deep and last forever. It will protect them when, for the first time in centuries, Lessa’s world is threatened by Thread, an evil substance that falls like rain and destroys everything it touches. Dragons and their Riders once protected the planet from Thread, but there are very few of them left these days. Now brave Lessa must risk her life, and the life of her beloved dragon, to save her beautiful world...

Atuais:

• Katherine Addison ou Sarah Monette

The youngest, half-goblin son of the Emperor has lived his entire life in exile, distant from the Imperial Court and the deadly intrigue that suffuses it. But when his father and three sons in line for the throne are killed in an "accident," he has no choice but to take his place as the only surviving rightful heir.
Entirely unschooled in the art of court politics, he has no friends, no advisors, and the sure knowledge that whoever assassinated his father and brothers could make an attempt on his life at any moment.
Surrounded by sycophants eager to curry favor with the naïve new emperor, and overwhelmed by the burdens of his new life, he can trust nobody. Amid the swirl of plots to depose him, offers of arranged marriages, and the specter of the unknown conspirators who lurk in the shadows, he must quickly adjust to life as the Goblin Emperor. All the while, he is alone, and trying to find even a single friend... and hoping for the possibility of romance, yet also vigilant against the unseen enemies that threaten him, lest he lose his throne – or his life.
This exciting fantasy novel, set against the pageantry and color of a fascinating, unique world, is a memorable debut for a great new talent.

• N.K. Jemisin

Yeine Darr is an outcast from the barbarian north. But when her mother dies under mysterious circumstances, she is summoned to the majestic city of Sky. There, to her shock, Yeine is named an heiress to the king. But the throne of the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is not easily won, and Yeine is thrust into a vicious power struggle.

• Ann Leckie

On a remote, icy planet, the soldier known as Breq is drawing closer to completing her quest.Once, she was the Justice of Toren - a colossal starship with an artificial intelligence linking thousands of soldiers in the service of the Radch, the empire that conquered the galaxy. Now, an act of treachery has ripped it all away, leaving her with one fragile human body, unanswered questions, and a burning desire for vengeance. 

• Kameron Hurley

On the eve of a recurring catastrophic event known to extinguish nations and reshape continents, a troubled orphan evades death and slavery to uncover her own bloody past… while a world goes to war with itself.
In the frozen kingdom of Saiduan, invaders from another realm are decimating whole cities, leaving behind nothing but ash and ruin.
As the dark star of the cataclysm rises, an illegitimate ruler is tasked with holding together a country fractured by civil war, a precocious young fighter is asked to betray his family and a half-Dhai general must choose between the eradication of her father’s people or loyalty to her alien Empress.
Through tense alliances and devastating betrayal, the Dhai and their allies attempt to hold against a seemingly unstoppable force as enemy nations prepare for a coming together of worlds as old as the universe itself.
In the end, one world will rise – and many will perish.

• Jen Williams

There are some far-fetched rumours about the caverns beneath the Citadel…
Some say the mages left their most dangerous secrets hidden there; others, that great riches are hidden there; even that gods have been imprisoned in its darkest depths.
For Lord Frith, the caverns hold the key to his vengeance. Against all the odds, he has survived torture and lived to see his home and his family taken from him … and now someone is going to pay. For Wydrin of Crosshaven and her faithful companion, Sir Sebastian Caverson, a quest to the Citadel looks like just another job. There’s the promise of gold and adventure. Who knows, they might even have a decent tale or two once they’re done.
But sometimes there is truth in rumour.
Soon this reckless trio will be the last line of defence against a hungry, restless terror that wants to tear the world apart. And they’re not even getting paid.

• Victoria Schwab

Victoria Schwab é autora dos livros YA The Near Witch, The Archived e sua continuação, The Unbound, e os livros da trilogia Everyday Angel, que são MG (middle grade). Sob o pseudônimo V.E. Schwab ela lança livros para adultos, como Vicious e A Darker Shade of Magic.

Kell is one of the last Travelers—rare magicians who choose a parallel universe to visit. 
Grey London is dirty, boring, lacks magic, ruled by mad King George. Red London is where life and magic are revered, and the Maresh Dynasty presides over a flourishing empire. White London is ruled by whoever has murdered their way to the throne. People fight to control magic, and the magic fights back, draining the city to its very bones. Once there was Black London - but no one speaks of that now.
Officially, Kell is the Red Traveler, personal ambassador and adopted Prince of Red London, carrying the monthly correspondences between royals of each London. Unofficially, Kell smuggles for those willing to pay for even a glimpse of a world they’ll never see. This dangerous hobby sets him up for accidental treason. Fleeing into Grey London, Kell runs afoul of Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She robs him, saves him from a dangerous enemy, then forces him to another world for her 'proper adventure'.
But perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, Kell and Lila will first need to stay alive — trickier than they hoped. 

Outras autoras:

• Martha Wells, autora de The Books of the Raksura.
• Sabaa Tahir, autora de An Ember in the Ashes.
• Glenda Larke, autora de The Forsaken Lands.
• Rachel Aaron/Bach, autora de The Legend of Eli Monpress e Paradox.
• Nnedi Okorafor, autora de Who Fears Death.
• S.L. Huang, autora de Russell's Attic.
• Naomi Novik, autora Téméraire.
• Courtney Schafer, autora de Shattered Sigil.
• Lynn Flewelling, autora de The Nightrunner Series.
• C.S. Pacat, autora de Captive Prince.

Há muitas outras, claro, clássicas e atuais. Fiquem à vontade para recomendar mais também!

(Notem que dessas autoras todas só duas - Robin Hobb e Naomi Novik - foram publicadas aqui no Brasil.)

PS: Aparentemente A Darker Shade of Magic será publicado aqui no Brasil pela Record!

EDIT: E A Mão Esquerda da Escuridão aka The Left Hand of Darkness de Le Guin foi publicado aqui no Brasil pela Editora Aleph!