Recommended Reads
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Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbook (Core Rulebook, D&D Roleplaying Game)
Create heroic characters for the world’s greatest roleplaying game.
The Player’s Handbook is the essential reference for every Dungeons & Dragons roleplayer. It contains rules for character creation and advancement, backgrounds and skills, exploration and combat, equipment, spells, and much more. Use this book to create characters from among the most iconic D&D races and classes.
Publisher’s Weekly #1 Best Seller in Hardcover Nonfiction
Wall Street Journal #1 Best Seller in Hardcover Nonfiction
• In Dungeons & Dragons, you and your friends coauthor your own legend. Guided by a Dungeon Master, you create characters and play their roles in a story, rolling dice and navigating maps as you unfold a tale as limitless as your imagination.
• The Player’s Handbook is the first of three D&D core rulebooks, along with the Monster Manual and the Dungeon Master’s Guide. The Player’s Handbook is the cornerstone. It’s the foundational text of D&D’s fifth edition—for beginners and for veterans alike.
• The Player’s Handbook walks you through how to create a Dungeons & Dragons character—the role you’ll play in the D&D world.
• Dungeons & Dragons is the world’s greatest roleplaying game. Created in 1974, D&D transformed gaming culture by blending traditional fantasy with miniatures and wargaming. -
Numenera
"There have been eight previous worlds ... Each left behind remnants. People of the new world, the Ninth World, sometimes call these remnants magic, and who are we to say they're wrong? But most give a unique name to the legacies of the nigh-unimaginable past. They call them Numenera. The Ninth World is built on the bones of the previous eight. The game of Numenera is about discovering the wonders of the worlds that came before, not for their own sake, but as the means to improve the present and build a future."--from p. 4 of cover.
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Call of Cthulhu Investigator Handbook
Will you stand against the horrors of the night? Whether learned professor, nosy journalist, or hard-hitting detective, investigators need all the help they can get. Let this book be your guide. The Investigator Handbook is an essential player's aid for the Call of Cthulhu7th Edition roleplaying game. Written for those who will be playing the roles of investigators, the Investigator Handbook contains expanded rules for creating players characters, a wealth of over 100 occupations and skill descriptions, as well as guidance on getting the most from the game. What's more, there's a range of organizations for your investigator to belong to, detailed information about the classic 1920s setting, equipment and weapons for both the 1920s and modern day, and expert tips and advice for all budding investigators. No self-respecting investigator of the Cthulhu Mythos should be without it!
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Blades in the Dark
Blades in the Dark is a tabletop role-playing game about a crew of daring scoundrels seeking their fortunes on the haunted streets of an industrial-fantasy city. There are heists, chases, occult mysteries, dangerous bargains, bloody skirmishes, and, above all, riches to be had--if you're bold enough to seize them. You and your fledgling crew must thrive amidst the threats of rival gangs, powerful noble families, vengeful ghosts, the Bluecoats of the city watch, and the siren song of your scoundrel's own vices. Will you rise to power in the underworld? What are you willing to do to get to the top? Inside, you'll find: Rules to create your scoundrel using the following character archetypes: The Cutter, the Hound, the Leech, the Lurk, the Slide, the Spider, or the Whisper. Rules to create your crew, built from types like Assassins, Bravos, a Cult, Hawkers, Shadows, or Smugglers. A robust core mechanic for planning crimianl operations to cut through the usual slog of planning at the game table. Rules for alchemical experiments, gadget tinkering, and weird occult powers--including rules for playing Ghosts and other strange beings. A setting guide to the haunted city of Doskvol, with all the maps, factions, NPCs, and opportunities you need to run an exciting sandbox game. --
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The Hobbit (Graphic Novel)
An illustrated edition of the enchanting prequel to The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit—the classic fantasy that inspired Peter Jackson’s major motion picture trilogy—in a newly expanded edition.
When Thorin Oakenshield and his band of dwarves embark upon a dangerous quest to reclaim the hoard of gold stolen from them by the evil dragon Smaug, Gandalf the wizard suggests an unlikely accomplice: Bilbo Baggins, an unassuming Hobbit dwelling in peaceful Hobbiton.
Along the way, the company faces trolls, goblins, giant spiders, and worse. But as they journey from the wonders of Rivendell to the terrors of Mirkwood and beyond, Bilbo will find that there is more to him than anyone—himself included—ever dreamed. Unexpected qualities of courage and cunning, and a love of adventure, propel Bilbo toward his great destiny . . . a destiny that waits in the dark caverns beneath the Misty Mountains, where a twisted creature known as Gollum jealously guards a precious magic ring. -
Beast Rider
In Beast Rider, award-winning author Tony Johnston and psychotherapistMaria Elena Fontanot de Rhoads "offer a sympathetic, illuminating portrait of the challenges faced by one undocumented immigrant" (Publishers Weekly, Starred Review).
Twelve-year-old Manuel leaves his small town in Mexico to join his older brother in Los Angeles. To cross the US border, he must become a "beast rider"--someone who hops on a train. The first time he tries, he is stopped by the Mexican police, who arrest and beat him. When he tries again, he is attacked by a Mexican gang and left for dead.
Just when Manuel is ready to turn back, he finds new hope. Villagers clothe and feed him, help him find work, and eventually boost him back onto the train. When he finally arrives in LA and is reunited with his brother, he is elated. But the longer he's there, the more he realizes that something isn't right.
Thrilling and heartfelt, Beast Rider is a coming-of-age story that reveals how a place and its people help to define you.
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The Odyssey
With bold imagery and an ear tuned to the music of Homer's epic poem, Gareth Hinds reinterprets the ancient classic as it's never been told before.
"Gareth Hinds brings THE ODYSSEY to life in a masterful blend of art and storytelling. Vivid and exciting, this graphic novel is a worthy new interpretation of Homer's epic."
--Rick Riordan, author of the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series
Fresh from his triumphs in the Trojan War, Odysseus, King of Ithaca, wants nothing more than to return home to his family. Instead, he offends the sea god, Poseidon, who dooms him to years of shipwreck and wandering. Battling man-eating monsters, violent storms, and the supernatural seductions of sirens and sorceresses, Odysseus will need all his strength and cunning--and a little help from Mount Olympus--to make his way home and seize his kingdom from the schemers who seek to wed his queen and usurp his throne. Award-winning graphic artist Gareth Hinds masterfully reinterprets a story of heroism, adventure, and high action that has been told and retold for more than 2,500 years--though never quite like this. -
Watership Down
A beautiful and faithful graphic novel adaptation of Richard Adams’s beloved story of a group of rabbits on an epic journey in search of home.
“Every rabbit that stays behind is in great danger. We will welcome any rabbit who joins us.”
Watership Down is a classic tale of survival, hope, courage, and friendship that has delighted and inspired readers around the world for more than fifty years. Masterfully adapted by award-winning author James Sturm and gorgeously illustrated by bestselling artist Joe Sutphin, this spectacular graphic novel will delight old fans and inspire new ones, bringing the joy of Watership Down to a new generation of readers. -
York: The Shadow Cipher
“The pleasures of the novel go far beyond the crackling, breathless plot and the satisfaction of watching the puzzle fall into place. The book is shot through with humor, both laugh-out-loud and subtle.” —New York Times Book Review
From National Book Award finalist and Printz Award winner Laura Ruby comes an epic alternate history series about three kids who try to solve the greatest mystery of the modern world: a puzzle and treasure hunt laid into the very streets and buildings of New York City.
It was 1798 when the Morningstarr twins arrived in New York with a vision for a magnificent city: towering skyscrapers, dazzling machines, and winding train lines, all running on technology no one had ever seen before.
Fifty-seven years later, the enigmatic architects disappeared, leaving behind for the people of New York the Old York Cipher—a puzzle laid into the shining city they constructed, at the end of which was promised a treasure beyond all imagining. By the present day, however, the puzzle has never been solved, and the greatest mystery of the modern world is little more than a tourist attraction.
Tess and Theo Biedermann and their friend Jaime Cruz live in a Morningstarr apartment—until a real estate developer announces that the city has agreed to sell him the five remaining Morningstarr buildings. Their likely destruction means the end of a dream long held by the people of New York.
And if Tess, Theo, and Jaime want to save their home, they have to prove that the Old York Cipher is real. Which means they have to solve it.
"An epic mission to solve one of the greatest mysteries of their time. I loved this book. It is full of twists and turns" (from the Brightly.com review, which named York: The Shadow Cipher one of the best books of 2017).
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The Thief
Nothing is overdone and not a word is out of place in this auspicious debut," wrote Kirkus in a starred review of Instead of Three Wishes, the first book by Megan Whalen Turner. Her second book more than fulfills that promise.
The king's scholar, the magus, believes he knows the site of an ancient treasure. To attain it for his king, he needs a skillful thief, and he selects Gen from the king's prison. The magus is interested only in the theif's abilities. What Gen is interested in is anyone's guess. Their journey toward the treasure is both dangerous and difficult, lightened only imperceptibly by the tales they tell of the old gods and goddesses.
Megan Whalen Turner weaves Gen's stories and Gen's story together with style and verve in a novel that is filled with intrigue, adventure, and surprise.
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Strange the Dreamer
An instant New York Times bestseller and Michael L. Printz honor book!
Eleven best of lists including an NPR Best Book, a Goodreads Best YA Fantasy and Science Fiction Nominee, and more!
From National Book Award finalist Laini Taylor comes an epic fantasy about a mythic lost city and its dark past.
The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around--and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly. Since he was just five years old, he's been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the form of a hero called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors, and he has to seize his chance or lose his dream forever.
What happened in Weep two hundred years ago to cut it off from the rest of the world? And who is the blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo's dreams?
In this sweeping and breathtaking novel by National Book Award finalist Laini Taylor, author of the New York Times bestselling Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy, the shadow of the past is as real as the ghosts who haunt the citadel of murdered gods. Fall into a mythical world of dread and wonder, moths and nightmares, love and carnage.
The answers await in Weep. -
Starflight
Fast-paced adventure, found family, intrigue, and enemies-to-lovers romance combine in an action-packed young adult novel for fans of Firefly.
Solara Brooks needs a fresh start, someplace where nobody cares about the engine grease beneath her fingernails or the felony tattoos across her knuckles. Still, off-world travel doesn't come cheap, and Solara is left with no choice but to indenture herself in exchange for passage to the outer realm. She just wishes it could have been to anyone besides Doran Spaulding, the rich, pretty-boy quarterback who made her life miserable in school. The tables suddenly turn when Doran is framed for conspiracy on Earth, and Solara cons him into playing the role of her servant on board the Banshee. Given the price on both Doran and Solara's heads, it may just be the safest place in the universe. It's been a long time since Solara has believed in anyone, and Doran is the last person she expected to trust. But when the Banshee's dangerous enemies catch up with them, Solara and Doran must come together to protect the ship that has become their home--and the eccentric crew that feels like family.
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The Kalevala
The national Finnish epic, "The Kalevala, " is one of the most important works of Finnish literature. It was originally compiled by Elias Lonnrot in the 19th century from ancient oral poetry. Since then, it has been translated into over 45 languages. This English translation captures the magic and beauty for children and adults alike. Beginning with the world's creation, it follows the stories of Vainamoinen, a shamanistic hero of song and story; his young rival, Joukahainen; and the handsome but arrogant Lemminkainen. Their quests for love, revenge, truth, and the mysterious Sampo, the ultimate source of prosperity, have thrilled and inspired generations of readers. This vibrant translation, with shimmering illustrations by Pirkko-liisa Surojegin, is sure to attract even more fans.
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Journey to the Center of the Earth
What a stunning discovery: an old, coded note that actually contains directions for reaching the Earth's very core! And once he finds it, renowned geologist Professor Liedenbrock can't resist setting out with his 16-year-old nephew to go where only one man has gone before. Jules Verne takes young readers on one of the most incredible journeys ever imagined, from Iceland's frozen tundra far down into fantastic underground prehistoric worlds and back up again through the fires of an erupting volcano.
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Alanna
From Tamora Pierce, the first book in the Song of the Lioness Quartet, honored with the Margaret A. Edwards Award.
“From now on I’m Alan of Trebond, the younger twin. I’ll be a knight.”
In a time when girls are forbidden to be warriors, Alanna of Trebond wants nothing more than to be a knight of the realm of Tortall. So she finds a way to switch places with her twin brother, Thom. Disguised as a boy, Alanna begins her training as a page at the palace of King Roald. But the road to knighthood, as she discovers, is not an easy one. Alanna must master weapons, combat, and magic, as well as polite behavior, her temper, and even her own heart.
Filled with swords and sorcery, adventure and intrigue, good and evil, Alanna’s first adventure begins—one that will lead to the fulfillment of her dreams and make her a legend in the land. -
The Princess Bride
William Goldman's thrilling and timeless story of Buttercup, Westley, and their fellow adventurers comes to life in this beautifully illustrated Deluxe Edition. With a gorgeous foil stamped cover, designed endpapers featuring a map of Florin and Guilder, and deckle-edge paper, it's the perfect gift book fans of the beloved book or the cult classic film.
A tale of true love and high adventure, pirates, princesses, giants, miracles, fencing, and a frightening assortment of wild beasts--The Princess Bride is a modern storytelling classic.
As Florin and Guilder teeter on the verge of war, the reluctant Princess Buttercup is devastated by the loss of her true love, kidnapped by a mercenary and his henchman, rescued by a pirate, forced to marry Prince Humperdinck, and rescued once again by the very crew who absconded with her in the first place. In the course of this dazzling adventure, she'll meet Vizzini--the criminal philosopher who'll do anything for a bag of gold; Fezzik--the gentle giant; Inigo--the Spaniard whose steel thirsts for revenge; and Count Rugen--the evil mastermind behind it all. Foiling all their plans and jumping into their stories is Westley, Princess Buttercup's one true love and a very good friend of a very dangerous pirate.
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JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Part 1--Phantom Blood, Vol. 1
A multigenerational tale of the heroic Joestar family and their never-ending battle against evil!
The legendary Shonen Jump series, now available in English for the first time, in a deluxe edition featuring color pages and newly drawn cover art! JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is a groundbreaking manga famous for its outlandish characters, wild humor and frenetic battles. A multigenerational tale of the heroic Joestar family and their never-ending battle against evil!
Young Jonathan Joestar’s life is forever changed when he meets his new adopted brother, Dio. For some reason, Dio has a smoldering grudge against him and derives pleasure from seeing him suffer. But every man has his limits, as Dio finds out. This is the beginning of a long and hateful relationship! -
Adventure Sites of the World
Introduces 25 adventure destinations around the world, with information about when and how to get there, activities available for a range of ages and interests, their physical demands.
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The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins
Welcome to The Adventure Zone! If your heart sings for Critical Role and Dimension 20, you’ll want to dive right into this gorgeous graphic novel adaptation of the trailblazing D&D podcast, which illustrates exploits of three lovable dummies on their journey from small-time bodyguards to world-class artifact hunters!
Join Taako the elf wizard, Merle the dwarf cleric, and Magnus the human warrior for an adventure they are poorly equipped to handle AT BEST, guided ("guided") by their snarky DM, in a graphic novel that will tickle your funny bone, tug your heartstrings, and probably pants you if you give it half a chance.
With endearingly off-kilter storytelling from master goofballs Clint McElroy and the McElroy brothers, and vivid, adorable art by Carey Pietsch, The Adventure Zone: Here There be Gerblins is the comics equivalent of role-playing in your friend's basement at 2am, eating Cheetos and laughing your ass off as she rolls critical failures and dies to a slime
Praise for The Adventure Zone series:
"Topping the New York Times bestseller list and building out its stories in fascinating new ways . . . it’s become a cultural phenomenon." —Entertainment Weekly
"Full of charm and snark and wit. Join the party!" —Felicia Day, author of Embrace Your Inner Weird
"The Adventure Zone is fun, hilarious, and also smart. Hey, guys, can I have a cameo next time?” —Adam Savage, MythBusters
“My excitement about this existing cannot be dwarfed by anything. You see what I did there.” —Jean Grae, hip-hop artist, actor, and comedian
“Gorgeous art—the characters come to life! I am so happy that this graphic novel is a thing that exists in the world.” —Hank Green, author of Crash Course and The Lizzie Bennet Diaries
Books in The Adventure Zone series:
The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins (Book 1)
The Adventure Zone: Murder on the Rockport Limited (Book 2)
The Adventure Zone: Petals to the Metal (Book 3)
The Adventure Zone: The Crystal Kingdom (Book 4)
The Adventure Zone: The Eleventh Hour (Book 5)
The Adventure Zone: The Suffering Game (Book 6)