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Daniel Abraham, A Shadow in Summer.
Enemies scheme to bring about the downfall of an idyllic city-state by eliminating its poet-sorcerer. Long Price Quartet #1.

Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
Arthur Dent embarks on a wild ride when his friend reveals that the Earth is about to be demolished to make way for an interstellar bypass. First in a series.

Taylor Anderson, Into the Storm.
An American destroyer during World War II passes into an alternate world with sea monsters and dinosaurs where a war rages between two evolved species. Destroyermen #1.

Marion Zimmer Bradley, The Bloody Sun.
Jeff Kerwin thinks he’s a full-blooded Terran, but when he returns to the planet Darkover he learns that he has the psychic powers of the native Comyn. Part of the Darkover series.

Kristen Britain, The Green Rider.
After being expelled from school for dueling, Karigan encounters a dying Green Rider and takes on his errand of carrying a vital message to the king. Green Rider trilogy #1.

Terry Brooks, Ilse Witch.
When a mad elf is discovered adrift at sea with a map to another continent, a group of misfits race the forces of evil to find the magic he’d been seeking. The Voyage of Jerle Shannara #1.

Lois Bujold, Warrior's Apprentice .
Discharged from the Imperial Military Academy, Miles Vorkosigan commits treason by forming his own mercenary fleet. Miles Vorkosigan series #1. 

Orson Scott Card, Ender's Game.
Ender Wiggin is sent to Battle School to learn to defend Earth against a race of insectlike aliens, but he soon realizes the training scenarios are more than just games. First in a series.

Isobel Carmody, Obernewtyn.
In a world devastated by nuclear holocaust, a young woman is exiled to the isolated town of Obernewtyn because of the extraordinary abilities she possesses. Obernewtyn Chronicles #1.

Steven Erikson, Gardens of the Moon.
After years of interminable war, the Empress of the Malazan Empire sends her troops to take the last remaining Free City. Malazan Book of the Fallen #1.

Raymond Feist, Rides a Dread Legion.
Ten years after the Darkwar, a group of elves enter Midkemia to take back the world they consider their lost homeland. Demonwar Saga #1.

David Gemmell, White Wolf.
A general who left the Queen’s service after he led a savage raid joins a monastery and is sent on a quest to a mysterious temple accompanied by Druss the Legend. Part of the Drenai series.

Peter Hamilton, The Dreaming Void.
A telepath begins receiving dreams from the Void at the center of the galaxy, setting off a mass pilgrimage to discover its secrets. Void Trilogy #1.

Nick Harkaway, The Gone-Away World.
A team of troubleshooters try to put out a fire in the Jorgmund Pipe that keeps the Livable Zone safe after the Go Away War.

Robin Hobb, Ship of Magic.
In a world where seafaring ships become sentient,  a woman is driven from her family’s liveship by her ruthless brother-in-law after her father’s death. Liveship Traders #1.

Kay Kenyon, Bright of Sky.
A pilot’s spacecraft is transported to an alternate universe and he returns six months later with no memory of what happened to him or to his family who were with him. Entire and the Rose #1.

Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, Partners in Necessity.
The traders of the Liaden Universe encounter a variety of enemies and adventures. Liaden Universe #1-3.

Scott Lynch, The Lies of Locke Lamora.
An orphan who becomes the leader of a gang of con artists finds himself faced with a shadowy figure plotting to control the criminal underworld. Sequel is Red Seas under Red Skies.

Juliet Marillier, Daughter of the Forest.
A girl is determined to free her six brothers from the curse that has turned them into swans. Sevenwaters #1.

George R.R. Martin, Game of Thrones.
In a land where seasons last for decades, the winter is returning as sinister forces amass in the north while the King’s powers begin to fail. Song of Fire and Ice #1.

Jack McDevitt, Seeker.
Two adventurers seek a lost colony that was rumored to have been founded by refugees who fled persecution on Earth thousands of years ago.

Patricia McKillip, Alphabet of Thorn.
An orphaned girl raised by the librarians of the Royal Library tries to translate a book in a strange language that no one else can read.

China Mieville, Perdido Street Station.
In a vast city filled with different species, a scientist tries to restore the power of flight to a being shorn of his wings.

Naomi Novik, His Majesty’s Dragon. Paperback Science Fiction
During the Napoleonic wars in an alternate world inhabited by dragons, a British naval captain captures an egg that hatches a dragon who bonds with him. Temeraire series #1.

Terry Pratchett, The Colour of Magic.
When Rincewind—a wizard whose spells never seem to work—is roped into acting as a tour guide for a four-eyed insurance salesman, chaos and mayhem follow. Discworld #1.

Robert Redick, The Red Wolf Conspiracy.
A floating city-ship embarks on a mission to bring an unwilling bride to an enemy prince in a bid for peace between two realms, but a conspiracy is afoot.

Alastair Reynolds, House of Suns.
Six million years ago, a thousand clones were sent out to explore the galaxy but now an enemy has begun to eliminate them.

Patrick Rothfuss, The Name of the Wind.
A legendary hero disguised as an innkeeper begins to tell the story of his past to a guest. Kingkiller Chronicle Day One.

R. A. Salvatore, The Highwayman.
In a world plagued by war and fear, a masked hero bearing a sword of great power arises. Prequel to the Demon Wars saga.

Brandon Sanderson, Elantris.
A prince is exiled to Elantris—a city that has lost its magic—and while he struggles to find the cause, the princess he is betrothed to tries to stop dark forces from gaining control outside the city.

John Scalzi, Old Man’s War.
An old man is given a new body when he joins the Colonial Defense Force to battle aliens for habitable planets in a crowded galaxy. First in a series.

Karl Schroeder, Sun of Suns.
Warring nations inside a planet-sized balloon fight over artificial suns, while a young man seeks revenge for the deaths of his parents. Virga #1.

Dan Simmons, Hyperion.
On the eve of Armageddon, seven pilgrims set out for the Time Tombs of Hyperion to confront the mysterious creature called the Shrike and solve the riddles of their lives—and possibly humanity’s fate. First in a series.

Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash.
In the near future, a pizza delivery boy who is a warrior in the computer Metaverse tracks down a virus that’s striking down hackers everywhere.

David Weber, On Basilisk Station. Paperback Science Fiction
Sent to a remote space station in disgrace, Honor Harrington of the Manticoran Navy and her crew must prevent a hostile takeover. First in a series.

Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman, Dragons of Autumn Twilight.
A group of friends become unlikely heroes as dragons return to Krynn and war threatens to engulf the land. Dragonlance Chronicles #1.

Tad Williams, The Dragonbone Chair.
Simon is a kitchen boy whose dreams of great deeds and heroic wars come true when the High King's death unleashes the evil power of the Storm King. Memory, Sorrow & Thorn #1.

Robert Charles Wilson, Spin.
An unknown intelligence causes time to pass at a much faster rate on Earth than in the rest of the universe, so that the world will end in 40 years.

Gene Wolfe, The Shadow of the Torturer.
Severian, an apprentice torturer, is exiled for showing mercy to one of his “clients” and begins an adventure-filled journey across a wintry Urth circling a dying sun. Book of the New Sun #1.

John Wright, The Golden Age.
Ten thousand years in the future, a man sets out to discover why his memories have been erased and his identity stolen. Golden Age #1.