Outlander (Outlander, #1) by Diana Gabaldon Published by Dell Publishing Company on July 26, 2005
Pages: 850
The year is 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is just back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach—an “outlander”—in a Scotland torn by war and raiding border clans in the year of Our Lord...1743.
Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into the intrigues of lairds and spies that may threaten her life, and shatter her heart. For here James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, shows her a love so absolute that Claire becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire—and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.
Age of Assassins (The Wounded Kingdom, #1) by R.J. Barker Published by Orbit on August 1, 2017
Pages: 408
To catch an assassin, use an assassin...
Girton Club-foot, apprentice to the land's best assassin, still has much to learn about the art of taking lives. But his latest mission tasks him and his master with a far more difficult challenge: to save a life. Someone, or many someones, is trying to kill the heir to the throne, and it is up to Girton and his master to uncover the traitor and prevent the prince's murder.
In a kingdom on the brink of civil war and a castle thick with lies Girton finds friends he never expected, responsibilities he never wanted, and a conspiracy that could destroy an entire kingdom.
The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks Published by Simon & Schuster (NYC) Pages: 192
Frank, no ordinary sixteen-year-old, lives with his father outsIde a remote Scottish village. Their life is, to say the least, unconventional. Frank's mother abandoned them years ago: his elder brother Eric is confined to a psychiatric hospital; and his father measures out his eccentricities on an imperial scale. Frank has turned to strange acts of violence to vent his frustrations. In the bizarre daily rituals there is some solace. But when news comes of Eric's escape from the hospital Frank has to prepare the ground for his brother's inevitable return - an event that explodes the mysteries of the past and changes Frank utterly.
The Wasp Factory is a work of horrifying compulsion: horrifying, because it enters a mind whose realities are not our own, whose values of life and death are alien to our society; compulsive, because the humour and compassion of that mind reach out to us all. A novel of extraordinary originality, imagination and comic ferocity.
Daughter of the Forest (Sevenwaters, #1) by Juliet Marillier Also by this author: Dreamer's Pool, Tower of Thorns
Published by Pan Macmillan on April 1, 1999
A beautiful retelling of the Celtic "Swans" myth, Daughter of the Forest is a mixture of history and fantasy, myth and magic, legend and love... To reclaim the lives of her brothers, Sorcha leaves the only safe place she has ever known and embarks on a journey filled with pain, loss and terror. When she is kidnapped by enemy forces and taken to a foreign land, it seems that there will be no way for Sorcha to break the spell that condemns all that she loves. But magic knows no boundaries, and Sorcha will have to choose between the life she has always known and a love that comes only once.
Kushiel's Dart (Phèdre's Trilogy, #1) by Jacqueline Carey Also by this author: Starless
Published by Tor Fantasy on September 5, 2003
Pages: 1015
The land of Terre d'Ange is a place of unsurpassing beauty and grace. It is said that angels found the land and saw it was good... and the ensuing race that rose from the seed of angels and men live by one simple rule: Love as thou wilt.
Phèdre nó Delaunay is a young woman who was born with a scarlet mote in her left eye. Sold into indentured servitude as a child, her bond is purchased by Anafiel Delaunay, a nobleman with very a special mission... and the first one to recognize who and what she is: one pricked by Kushiel's Dart, chosen to forever experience pain and pleasure as one.
Phèdre is trained equally in the courtly arts and the talents of the bedchamber, but, above all, the ability to observe, remember, and analyze. Almost as talented a spy as she is courtesan, Phèdre stumbles upon a plot that threatens the very foundations of her homeland. Treachery sets her on her path; love and honor goad her further. And in the doing, it will take her to the edge of despair... and beyond. Hateful friend, loving enemy, beloved assassin; they can all wear the same glittering mask in this world, and Phèdre will get but one chance to save all that she holds dear.
Set in a world of cunning poets, deadly courtiers, heroic traitors, and a truly Machiavellian villainess, this is a novel of grandeur, luxuriance, sacrifice, betrayal, and deeply laid conspiracies. Not since Dune has there been an epic on the scale of Kushiel's Dart-a massive tale about the violent death of an old age, and the birth of a new.
Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn on August 26, 2002
Pages: 294
In his black-walled fortress at Inuyama, the warlord Iida Sadamu surveys his famous nightingale floor. Constructed with exquisite skill, it sings at the tread of each human foot. No assassin can cross it unheard.The youth Takeo has been brought up in a remote mountain village among the Hidden, a reclusive and spiritual people who have taught him only the ways of peace. But unbeknownst to him, his father was a celebrated assassin and a member of the Tribe, an ancient network of families with extraordinary, preternatural skills. When Takeo's village is pillaged, he is rescued and adopted by the mysterious Lord Otori Shigeru. Under the tutelage of Shigeru, he learns that he too possesses the skills of the Tribe. And, with this knowledge, he embarks on a journey that will lead him across the famed nightingale floor—and to his own unimaginable destiny...
The Reapers are the Angels (Reapers, #1) by Alden Bell Published by Holt McDougal on August 3, 2010
Pages: 225
Zombies have infested a fallen America. A young girl named Temple is on the run. Haunted by her past and pursued by a killer, Temple is surrounded by death and danger, hoping to be set free.
For twenty-five years, civilization has survived in meager enclaves, guarded against a plague of the dead. Temple wanders this blighted landscape, keeping to herself - and keeping her demons inside. She can't remember a time before the zombies, but she does remember an old man who took her in and the younger brother she cared for until the tragedy that set her on a personal journey toward redemption. Moving back and forth between the insulated remnants of society and the brutal frontier beyond, Temple must decide where ultimately to make a home and find the salvation she seeks.
Those Across the River by Christopher Buehlman Also by this author: Between Two Fires, The Lesser Dead
Published by Ace on September 4, 2011
Pages: 352
Haunted by memories of the Great War, failed academic Frank Nichols and his wife have arrived in the sleepy Georgia town of Whitbrow, where Frank hopes to write a history of his family’s old estate—the Savoyard Plantation—and the horrors that occurred there. At first their new life seems to be everything they wanted. But under the facade of summer socials and small-town charm, there is an unspoken dread that the townsfolk have lived with for generations. A presence that demands sacrifice. It comes from the shadowy woods across the river, where the ruins of the Savoyard Plantation still stand. Where a long-smoldering debt of blood has never been forgotten.
Where it has been waiting for Frank Nichols…
Sharps Published by Orbit on July 17, 2012 Pages: 449
For the first time in nearly forty years, an uneasy truce has been called between two neighbouring kingdoms. The war has been long and brutal, fought over the usual things: resources, land, money...
Now, there is a chance for peace. Diplomatic talks have begun and with them, the games. Two teams of fencers represent their nations at this pivotal moment.
When the future of the world lies balanced on the point of a rapier, one misstep could mean ruin for all. Human nature being what it is, does peace really have a chance?
Grass (Arbai, #1) by Sheri S. Tepper Published by Doubleday on August 27, 1989
Pages: 426
Generations ago, humans fled to the cosmic anomaly known as Grass. But before humanity arrived, another species had already claimed Grass for its own. It too had developed a culture......
Now a deadly plague is spreading across the stars, leaving no planet untouched, save for Grass. But the secret of the planet's immunity hides a truth so shattering it could mean the end of life itself.
Age of Assassins and Kushiel’s Dart are on my theoretical list as well! Best of luck with your TBR!
Caitlin G. recently posted…August 2019 TBR
Age of assassins is one of the best books I’ve read. I hope you enjoy it.
I hope you find time to read all of these backlist books soon.
Lydia recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday: LGBT+ Books I Want to Read
I’ve heard so much about Outlander! I want to read it too and watch the T.V. show as well.
Great post! Good luck getting into your TBR!
Marti recently posted…Top Character Relationships
Nice list! Outlander is one of my all-time favorites, so I hope you give it a shot! I’ve got a copy of Daughter of the Forest that I need to read too…
Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday: My super-special special editions
I loved the Carey series!
I can’t recommend Barker’s Assassin trilogy enough: it’s one of the best fantasy debuts I ever read!
Maddalena@spaceandsorcery recently posted…Short Story Review: THE FUTURE IS BLUE, by Catherynne M. Valente
Outlander is on my TBR as well.
My TTT https://thereadingrebel.wordpress.com/2019/07/30/top-ten-tuesday-my-top-ten-favorite-bookish-businesses/
Ooh some of these are new to me, but Jacqueline Carey and Juliet Marillier are two authors I’ve wanted to try for a while. Carey even lives in my state! Another reason to try her- supporting local authors! 🙂
Greg recently posted…Tuesday Tagline #151
Your priorities should be Age of Assassins and Kushiel’s Dart 😀 😉
Outlander!!! Ah. One of my favourites. Although, admittedly, it was SUCH a commitment and took me a while to actually finish, despite having loved it. Definitely one of those mood reads. I hope you enjoy it, and the rest of your backlist, when you get to them! Happy reading!
Jessica at Booked J recently posted…Guest Post: Children’s Illustrator Samantha Holm on the Importance of Art in Storytelling and What Inspires Her Artistically
This is a great list, Lisa. I only got Daughter of the Forest off of my backlist this year! I’m finding it harder and harder to get to backlist stuff as the new books coming out are always so enticing. I hope you enjoy these when you get to them. 🙂