Lindsay Buroker

Imperial law enforcer Amaranthe Lokdon is good at her job: she can deter thieves and pacify thugs, if not with a blade, then by toppling an eight-foot pile of coffee canisters onto their heads. But when ravaged bodies show up on the waterfront, an arson covers up human sacrifices, and a powerful business coalition plots to kill the emperor, she feels a tad overwhelmed. Worse, Sicarius, the empire's most notorious assassin, is in town. He's tied in with the chaos somehow, but Amaranthe would be a fool to cross his path. Unfortunately, her superiors order her to hunt him down. Either they have an unprecedented belief in her skills... or someone wants her dead. The Emperor's Edge is approximately 105,000 words and is recommended for fans of epic fantasy, sword and sorcery, and steampunk.

The Emperor's Edge

The Elf Tangent

A tough, snarky heroine and an aloof dragon shifter must work together to save Seattle in this new urban fantasy series.

Sinister Magic

A thousand years have passed since a dragon has been seen in the world. Science and technology have replaced magic, which has dwindled until it has become little more than an element of myth and legend. There are those who still have dragon blood flowing through their veins, distant descendants of the mighty creatures of old. These rare humans have the power to cast magic, the power to heal, and the power to craft alchemical weapons capable of starting wars… or ending them. But they are feared for those powers, and in recent centuries, they have been hunted nearly to extinction. The few remaining survivors must find a way to change how humanity perceives them or be lost to the world forever. The Dragon Blood Collection includes three full-length novels of action, magic, and romance: Balanced on the Blade’s Edge Deathmaker Blood Charged

The Dragon Blood Collection, Books 1-3

Colonel Ridge Zirkander isn’t the model of military professionalism—he has a tendency to say exactly what’s on his mind, and his record has enough demerits to wallpaper the hull of an airship—but as the best fighter pilot in the Iskandian army, he’s used to a little leniency from his superiors. Until he punches the wrong diplomat in the nose and finds himself issued new orders: take command of a remote prison mine in the inhospitable Ice Blades Mountains. Ridge has never been in charge of anything larger than a flier squadron—what’s he supposed to do with a frozen fortress full of murderers and rapists? Not to mention the strange woman who shows up right before he arrives… Sardelle Terushan wakes from three hundred years in a mage stasis shelter, only to realize that she is the last of the Referatu, the sorcerers who once helped protect Iskandia from conquerors. Their subterranean mountain community was blown up in a treacherous sneak attack by soldiers who feared their power. Everyone Sardelle ever knew is dead, and the sentient soulblade she has been bonded to since her youth is buried in the core of the mountain. Further, what remains of her home has been infested by bloodthirsty miners commanded by the descendants of the very soldiers who destroyed her people. Sardelle needs help to reach her soulblade—her only link to her past and her last friend in the world. Her only hope is to pretend she’s one of the prisoners while trying to gain the commander’s trust. But lying isn’t her specialty, especially when the world has changed so much in the intervening centuries, and if Colonel Zirkander figures out who she truly is, he’ll be duty-bound to sentence her to the only acceptable punishment for sorcerers: death.

Dragon Blood, Book 1

Balanced on the Blade's Edge

Mind over Magic

For centuries, wizard kings have ruled the world from their elite sky cities, battling each other to add to their wealth and power, while using normal human beings as pawns. Those without magic struggle to feed their families and live in constant fear of bringing down the wrath of their tyrannical masters.Something must change.But great heroes have tried and failed. Rebellions have been quashed, villages enslaved, and warriors executed. Who is left to fight? In the shadow of an active volcano, a small band of downtrodden soldiers and bookish archaeologists hope to find an ancient portal that allows travel to other worlds. Somewhere out there are the allies they need to win the war against their oppressors. Maybe they can even find the dragons that are believed to have built the ancient portals. With such powerful allies, they could finally end the wizards' corrupt rule and bring freedom and prosperity to all of humanity. But our heroes are not the only ones who hunt for the portal, and the wizard rulers will do whatever it takes to keep their power?

Kingdoms at War

The Alliance has toppled the tyrannical empire. It should be a time for celebration, but not for fighter pilot Captain Alisa Marchenko. After barely surviving a crash in the final battle for freedom, she's stranded on a dustball of a planet, billions of miles from her young daughter. She has no money or resources, and there are no transports heading to Perun, her former home and the last imperial stronghold. But she has a plan. Steal a dilapidated and malfunctioning freighter from a junkyard full of lawless savages. Slightly suicidal, but she believes she can do it. Her plan, however, does not account for the elite cyborg soldier squatting in the freighter, intending to use it for his own purposes. As an imperial soldier, he has no love for Alliance pilots. In fact, he's quite fond of killing them. Alisa has more problems than she can count, but she can't let cyborgs, savages, or ancient malfunctioning ships stand in her way. If she does, she'll never see her daughter again. Fans of Firefly and Star Wars should enjoy this fun, fast-paced new series from USA Today best-selling author, Lindsay Buroker.

Star Nomad

It's been three months since former enforcer Amaranthe Lokdon and the notorious assassin Sicarius thwarted kidnappers and saved the emperor's life. The problem? Nobody knows they were responsible for this good deed. Worse, they're being blamed for the entire scheme. With enforcers and bounty hunters stalking them, and the emperor nursing a personal hatred for Sicarius, it's going to be hard to earn exoneration. When Amaranthe's team discovers mutilated bodies in the city aqueducts and a mysterious illness incapacitates thousands of citizens, she and Sicarius see an opportunity to solve the mystery and prove their loyalty. But they'll have to defeat vengeful shamans, man-eating predators, and deadly mechanical constructs, all while dodging imperial soldiers who would rather kill them than accept their help. Nobody said exoneration would be easy.

Dark Currents

What if being a hero was encoded in your genes? And nobody told you? Casmir Dabrowski would laugh if someone asked him that. After all, he had to build a robot to protect himself from bullies when he was in school. Fortunately, life is a little better these days. He's an accomplished robotics engineer, a respected professor, and he almost never gets picked on in the lunchroom. But he's positive heroics are for other people. Until robot assassins stride onto campus and try to kill him. Forced to flee the work he loves and the only home he's ever known, Casmir catches the first ship into space, where he hopes to buy time to figure out who wants him dead and why. If he can't, he'll never be able to return home. But he soon finds himself entangled with bounty hunters, mercenaries, and pirates, including the most feared criminal in the Star Kingdom: Captain Tenebris Rache. Rache could snap his spine with one cybernetically enhanced finger, but he may be the only person with the answer Casmir desperately needs: What in his genes is worth killing for?

Shockwave

The emperor has been ousted from the throne, his bloodline in question, and war is descending on the capital. Forge, the nefarious business coalition that has been manipulating the political situation from the beginning, has the ultimate weapon at its disposal. If it was difficult for a small team of outlaws—or, as Amaranthe has decided they should now be called, rebels—to make a difference before, it's a monumental task now. If she's to return idealistic young Sespian to the throne, earn the exoneration she's sought for so long, and help her closest ally win the respect of the son who detests him, she'll have to employ an unprecedented new scheme... preferably without destroying the city—or herself—in the process. The Emperor's Edge Series Reading Order: The Emperor's Edge (Book 1) Dark Currents (Book 2) Deadly Games (Book 3) Conspiracy (Book 4) Blood and Betrayal (Book 5) Forged in Blood I (Book 6) Forged in Blood II (Book 7)

The Emperor's Edge Series, Book 6

Forged in Blood I

When Lieutenant Caslin Ahn joined Wolf Squadron, she was prepared for the reality that she might one day be killed in the line of duty. She was less prepared for being shot down, assumed dead by her own people, and dragged off to the Cofah Empire as a prisoner of war. As if being thrust into a dungeon and interrogated wasn't bad enough, the sadistic commandant decides to give her a cellmate: the notorious pirate Deathmaker. Given the crimes he's committed against Iskandia, Cas owes it to her people to try and kill him. Part warrior and part scientist, Tolemek "Deathmaker" Targoson has not only slain thousands with his deadly concoctions, but he has a special loathing for Iskandian pilots. It was Ahn's commander, Colonel Zirkander, who ruined his military career, forcing him to leave his country in shame and join a pirate organization. Years later, he uses his dreadful reputation like a shield to keep people away; all he wants is to be left alone to work in his laboratory. But when fate lands him in a cell with Zirkander's prot?g?, he sees a chance for revenge. Why kill the lieutenant when he can use her to get to his old nemesis?There's just one problem: it's hard to plot against your enemies when you're in prison with them. Cas and Tolemek will have to work together if they hope to escape the Cofah dungeon. In the process, they may find that neither is what the other expects, and that they have far greater problems to worry about than ensnaring each other ... Deathmaker is a full-length 85,000-word novel. It is set after the events in Balanced on the Blade's Edge, but it can be enjoyed even if you haven't read the first book. The Dragon Blood series reading order:Book 1: Balanced on the Blade's EdgeBook 2: DeathmakerBook 3: Blood Charged.

Deathmaker (Dragon Blood, Book 2)

When you’re an outlaw hoping for a pardon, and the emperor personally sends a note requesting that your team kidnap him, you make plans to comply… Even if it’ll involve infiltrating a train full of soldiers, bodyguards, and spies loyal to a nefarious business coalition that has numerous reasons to hate you. Even if it means leaving the city right after you’ve uncovered a secret weapons shipment that might be meant to start a war. Even if it’s a trap... Conspiracy is the fourth book in The Emperor's Edge high fantasy adventure series. Other books in the series: The Emperor’s Edge, Book 1 Dark Currents, Book 2 Deadly Games, Book 3 Conspiracy, Book 4 Blood and Betrayal, Book 5 Forged in Blood I, Book 6 Forged in Blood II, Final Book

The Emperor's Edge, Book 4

Conspiracy

The Emperor's Edge Collection

Professor Tikaya Komitopis isn't a great beauty, a fearless warrior, or even someone who can walk and chew chicle at the same time, but her cryptography skills earn her wartime notoriety. When enemy marines show up at her family's plantation, she expects the worst.But they're not there to kill her. They need her to decode mysterious runes, and they ask for help in the manner typical of a conquering empire: they kidnap her, threaten her family, and throw her in the brig of their fastest steamship.Her only ally is a fellow prisoner who charms her with a passion for academics as great as her own. Together, they must decipher mind-altering alchemical artifacts, deadly poison rockets, and malevolent technological constructs, all while dodging assassination attempts from a rival power determined the expedition should fail. As if the situation weren't treacherous enough, this new “ally” may turn out to be the last person Tikaya should trust. Those runes cloak more than mysteries, however, and he's the only one who can help her unravel them before their secrets destroy the world.

Encrypted

Sardelle Terushan, sorceress and healer, should be lying low. Magic is forbidden in Iskandia, and magic users are drowned, shot, or otherwise slain. The problem? She's fallen in love with ace fighter pilot and national hero, Colonel Ridge Zirkander, a man whom everybody notices, including the king. It's not long before Sardelle has spies dogging her steps and people trying to blow her up. Worse, her presence is jeopardizing Ridge's career. If she can't find a solution to the nation's centuries-old hatred of magic, the only way to protect Ridge-and herself-may be to leave. Ridge Zirkander isn't used to worrying about more than shooting down Cofah airships and keeping the officers in his squadron alive, but his world has gotten more complicated since giving his heart to Sardelle. It's difficult to keep people from noticing a mysterious and enigmatic woman, not to mention her chatty sentient sword. He's been passing her off as an archaeologist to his fellow pilots, but when the king calls him in to a private meeting, Ridge fears his secret has been discovered. But the king-and the rest of the country-has a greater problem. Cofah military scientists have acquired something that shouldn't exist in the world any longer: dragon blood. In addition to having countless mysterious properties, it's a powerful energy source that can be used to create devastating weapons. Ridge, Sardelle, and their allies must travel to the empire as part of a secret strike force to steal the dragon blood. If they fail, the Cofah will finally have the power to destroy all of Iskandia.

Blood Charged

If you think having one dragon around messes up your life, imagine what it's like when a second one shows up. I'm Val Thorvald, assassin of magical bad guys and tenuous ally to the dragon lord Zav. He still calls me a mongrel and thinks I'm a criminal, but he healed my wounds after we fought those dark elves together. That's progress, right? Maybe one day, he'll deign to use my name. Not that this is my primary concern. I'm busy with a new assignment. Nin, the awesome lady who makes my magical weapons, has a werewolf problem. Specifically, sleazy loser werewolf competitors who want to drive her out of business. Or worse. Normally, a couple of werewolves wouldn't be a big deal, but these ones have powerful allies. And then there's that new dragon. It turns out he's one of Zav's enemies, and he wants to use me against him. I don't know why he's picking on me--it's not like I mean something to Zav--but somehow I've gotten stuck in the middle of dragon politics. If you think that sounds like a nightmare, you're right. If I can't figure out a way to help my friend with the werewolves while keeping these dragons from tearing me apart, we're both going to end up flatter than the deck chairs when Zav lands on the roof of my apartment building.

Battle Bond

Seattle native Matti Puletasi has the strength of a bear, the stamina of an ox, and a magical hammer inherited from her dwarven mother. She's happy renovating homes and occasionally thumping bad guys until she learns of a mysterious artifact hidden under the house she's working on. Everybody from humans to orcs to werewolves wants it, and they're willing to kill to get it. Things go from bad to worse when someone frames her for murder. The only person interested in helping her is a haughty elf assassin from another realm. He's handsome, powerful, and deadly, but he's got an agenda of his own. She dare not trust him-or be attracted to him. But if she can't clear her name, the assassin will be the least of her worries.

Legacy of Magic, Book 1

Hammered

The Ever War has ended, and the curse that compelled the elven princess Hysithea to attack her own people has been lifted. But she's haunted by nightmares, plagued by guilt, and unable to access the magical power that once flowed through her veins. It is not the time to seek out romance. Then a fearsome warrior from the human empire arrives, a supposed diplomat. Mrothgar is tattooed, muscled, and looks like he'd rather slay elves than befriend them, but he takes an interest in Hysithea. He invites her to accompany him back to his land to visit its great libraries. As an academic and a historian, Hysithea is tantalized by the offer, but she's studied his language and overhears his true intent:Mrothgar is there to gather intelligence on the elves as his emperor prepares an invasion force to conquer them.Hysithea has no choice but to join him, hoping to spy and find a way to sabotage the invasion. Her people need her, and this is her chance to atone for the past. But Mrothgar is smarter than she realized, and those muscles and tattoos are more intriguing than they should be. Against her wishes, Hysithea finds herself drawn to him. And that's a problem. She can't save her people if she falls in love with the man who wants to conquer them.

The Princess Paradigm

The last thing Maldynado Montichelu—former aristocrat and current ladies' man—ever wanted was to be left in charge. After all, the team just blew up a train, crashed a dirigible, and kidnapped the emperor. It's kind of an important time. But, with Amaranthe captured by the nefarious Forge coalition, and Sicarius off to find her, the team is lacking in leaders. Also, Sicarius has made it clear that Maldynado's life may be forfeit should anything happen to the emperor while he's gone. To make matters worse, Forge's cutthroats are after Sespian, and the young emperor believes Maldynado's loyalties are suspect. As if it's his fault that his older brother is working with the coalition to usurp the throne. If Maldynado can't figure out how to earn the emperor's trust quickly, Sespian will go off to confront their powerful enemies on his own. Meanwhile, Amaranthe must find a way to escape from the coalition's newest ally, Master Interrogator Pike, a man who plans to pull all of the secrets from her head, one way or another...

Lindsay Buroker

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