Epic Saints

If the saints have never made you laugh or drop your jaw, they will in this book. Best-selling author Shaun McAfee (Reform Yourself!, Filling Our Father’s House) and guest writers illustrate how the saints were not just stone-faced old men. Some of them had quirky habits and outrageous personalities and did breathtaking deeds...but they all had epic faith.

Fetter was raised to kill, honed as a knife to cut down his sainted father. This gave him plenty to talk about in therapy. He walked among invisible powers: devils and anti-gods that mock the mortal form. He learned a lethal catechism, lost his shadow, and gained a habit for secrecy. After a blood-soaked childhood, Fetter escaped his rural hometown for the big city, and fell into a broader world where divine destinies are a dime a dozen.

The Greatcoats are back - and this time it's personal. How do you kill a Saint? Falcio, Brasti and Kest are about to find out, as someone is doing just that, and they've started with a friend. The Dukes were already looking for ways to weasel out of their promise to put Aline on her father's throne - but with Saints turning up dead and Church Inquisitors pushing for control, rumours are spreading that the gods themselves oppose her ascension.

Sister Adamanthea is an oddity among the Adepta Sororitas - a Sister Repentia who has been cleansed of her sin and returned to her duty, rather than finding penance in death. Seen by the faithful as a living miracle, she herself is unsure. Still feeling the weight of her crime, she wonders if she belongs in the sisterhood at all. When she is forced to appear with a famed priest on a most holy day, Adamanthea's doubts itensify...until disaster strikes.

He's a paladin of a dead god, tracking a supernatural killer across a continent. She's a nun from a secretive order, on the trail of the raiders who burned her convent and kidnapped her sisters. When their paths cross at the point of a sword, Istvhan and Clara will be pitched headlong into each other's quests, facing off against enemies both living and dead. But Clara has a secret that could jeopardize the growing trust between them, a secret that will lead them to the gladiatorial pits of a corrupt city, and beyond.

Sister Adamanthea is a Repentia redeemed, restored to her beloved Sororitas and hailed as a ‘living miracle’. But behind closed doors she is haunted by a sin she believes can never be forgiven. Paraded in front of the countless pilgrims of the garden-temple of Concordia, how can she speak of faith when her own is so uncertain? When an aeons-old conspiracy finally triggers, Adamanthea must prove herself the legend she is claimed to be, or risk the forces of Chaos pulling back the shroud of lies and shattering the faith of an entire world.

As Spymaster to the Queen, Aya's blood oath ensures she protects those she fights alongside - including Will, the Queen's Enforcer and Aya's bitter rival. When rumors of dark magic rise in a nearby kingdom, both are sent to investigate. But when Aya's power acts beyond her gods-given affinity, she risks being turned into a weapon in a war she doesn't know how to win. And when her relationship with Will unexpectedly shifts, neither know the danger that will follow.

Myke Cole, author of the beloved military fantasy Shadow Ops series, debuts a new epic fantasy trilogy with The Armored Saint, a tale of religious tyrants, arcane war machines and underground resistance that will enthrall epic fantasy readers of all ages. After witnessing a horrendous slaughter, young Heloise opposes the Order and risks bringing their wrath down on herself, her family and her village. She must confront the true risk that wizards pose to the world and weigh the safety of her people against justice.

The news from the north is grim. An army is massing under the new king of Feal. They head towards Darien - city of the Twelve families - demanding allegiance, or war. Tellius, Speaker to the Council, knows this divided city will never stand against such a terrible foe. But Tellius has a plan. He will assemble a band of heroes. Men and women who once before aided Darien in her time of need. They will come if he calls. The army approaches. The trumpets of war sound. A great city holds its breath. And a desperate plan unfolds.

Treachery has been revealed on an Imperial world - human acolytes of the Alpha Legion have infiltrated the faithful populace and triggered a catastrophe. As the Adepta Sororitas battle the unmasked heretics, they look to their leader for guidance - but Sister Adamanthea faces trials of her own. With her faith in herself and the Emperor in doubt, she must rally herself and her warriors to combat the enemy - even as she discovers that they may be closer than she thought.

The architect of treachery has been revealed...and Sister Adamanthea is in his clutches. The arch-heretic believes he can bend the devout Battle Sister to his cause, and will stop at nothing to turn one of the Adepta Sororitas away from the Emperor's light and into the embrace of Chaos. Adamanthea must set aside her doubts and fears and marshal her faith in the Emperor if she is to resist temptation and defeat the traitors in her midst.

In a world where any act of magic could open a portal to hell, the Order insures that no wizard will live to summon devils, and will kill as many innocent people as they must to prevent that greater horror. After witnessing a horrendous slaughter, the village girl Heloise opposes the Order, and risks bringing their wrath down on herself, her family, and her village.

Maria Lunurin has been living a double life for as long as she can remember. To the world, she is Sister Maria, dutiful nun and devoted servant of Aynila's Codicían colonizers. But behind closed doors, she is a stormcaller, chosen daughter of the Aynilan goddess Anitun Tabu. In hiding not only from the Codicíans and their witch hunts, but also from the vengeful eye of her slighted goddess, Lunurin does what she can to protect her fellow Aynilans and the small family she has created in the convent: her lover Catalina, and her younger sister Inez.

The Saint of War spares the life of a servant girl so she can fulfill her destiny as the kingdom’s greatest warrior in this short story of love and loyalty by New York Times bestselling author Alix E. Harrow.

Marguerite Florian is a spy with two problems. A former employer wants her dead, and one of her new bodyguards is a far too good-looking paladin with a martyr complex. Shane is a paladin with three problems. His god is dead, his client is much too attractive for his peace of mind, and a powerful organization is trying to have them both killed.

A larval Great Old One is growing day by day in power and just about ready to pop. If Chad Gadenier can't convince "the powers that be" to get involved, not only New Orleans, but the entire world, is going to fall under the power of the nastiest of nasties. Now on the outs with the US government and in exile from his usual job of saving the world, Chad must rally the forces of light against the coming darkness. The problem is one guy with a sword and a sub-gun isn't going to solve this one.

With his acclaimed debut, The Gutter Prayer, Gareth Hanrahan introduced a world of sorcerers and thieves, broken gods and dangerous magic. Now, this epic tale continues in The Shadow Saint, the gripping second novel in the Black Iron Legacy. As the Godswar draws ever closer and tensions within the city escalate, how long will the people of Guerdon be able to keep their enemies at bay?

A girl who can speak to gods must save her people without destroying herself. A prince in danger must decide who to trust. A boy with a monstrous secret waits in the wings. Together, they must assassinate the king and stop the war. In a centuries-long war where beauty and brutality meet, their three paths entwine in a shadowy world of spilled blood and mysterious saints, where a forbidden romance threatens to tip the scales between dark and light.

Jurian’s victory against the dark power in Cyrene has earned him renown throughout the Empire, but fame means nothing to him if he can’t save the friend he lost.

A sword of green glass. A key that opens passages between the worlds. The nameless warrior has nothing else. No allies, no armor, not even the memory of how he came to be trapped within this dying land, pursued across a red waste by the monstrous Shriven. But all hope is not lost. There are other survivors amidst the desolation, holding clues as to where he has come from and what he must do: Amara, the Red Sword of her tribe, a beautiful and fiery swordswoman obsessed with destroying the demons that plague her people, and Valyra, a young sorceress....