AFP

When Finlay Ashowan joins the staff of the King and Queen of Daxaria, he’s an enigma. No one knows where he comes from or how he came to be where he is, which suits Fin just fine. He’s satisfied simply serving as the royal cook, keeping nosy passersby out of his kitchen, and concocting some truly uncanny meals. But Fin’s secret identity doesn’t stay hidden for long. After all, it’s not every day a house witch and his kitten familiar, Kraken, take to meddling in imperial affairs.

When it comes to action and adventure, every hero needs a good sidekick. Holmes has Watson, Batman has Robin, and Daniel has . . . Orrin. More like brothers than friends, they always have each other's backs. And as Daniel is the big, strong, handsome type, Orrin is more than happy to remain in his shadow at school, at parties, pretty much everywhere. Then things take a turn for the truly weird when a terrible accident catapults the pair into a world totally unlike their own, in which the rules of a role-playing game hold sway.

In the distant past, a time of magic and swordplay, there lived Harold, the mightiest lich of all, a master of arcane sciences, and a challenger of gods. After reaching the pinnacle of his power and finding it surprisingly bland, Harold waged a cataclysmic war against the gods, aiming to shatter the very system that confined him. He took a nap, but he is awake once more.

Accompanying an expedition of wizards, Alex has proved himself against the dangers of Greymoor, calling upon summoned servants to defeat the Ravener’s hunters. But with the death of his pursuers, no answers are apparent, only more questions. And now Alex, the Heroes, his cabal, and the mighty Baelin seek answers in the ancient Crymlyn swamp, which the Sage of Thameland calls home.

After a grueling trial, Alex Roth had reached the University of Generasi and learned much about the Mark of the Fool and how to exploit it for new paths of power. Making friends and training in alchemy, all seemed to be going well. But shadows stir. The dark secrets of his homeland haunt him. His sister—Selina—learns that she is what she hates most. And unfriendly, monstrous eyes track him.

The Sheep Dragon is a collection of 14 short stories set before, during, and after the first four parts of The Unconventional Heroes series. Each story addresses questions of world-shaking importance like: Is it possible for a young dragon to watch over a flock of sheep without those sheep ending up in his stomach? What do necromancers actually do at necromancer conventions? And what is the best way to deal with a surprise demonic invasion?

When a fiendish fraudster has been fomenting financial falsehoods, who can find the finagler? The World’s Greatest Detective Agency, of course! Staffed by the eccentric man who calls himself Sherman Holmes and aided by his ever-composed assistant Watson, the duo will take on cases other agencies might consider helpless, hopeless, or downright preposterous. Which is how our fearless fellows find themselves investigating a Renaissance faire’s cooked books, with the finger of guilt pointing directly at their client.

Sherman Holmes has officially settled into his new city, and the World's Greatest Detective Agency has opened its doors. While his put-upon partner, Watson, would be happy to keep the jobs as simple as missing pets, when a worried worker with an outlandish tale of ghosts walks in, there's no stopping Sherman from taking the case. Now, the new duo must investigate a local "haunted" tourist site where the scares are going off-script and otherworldly interference is suspected.

Minalan the Spellmonger has come a long way since he woke up to a goblin invasion almost a decade ago. Since then, he has built cities and mighty armies, invented new enchantments, and pioneered entirely new fields of magic. Now that the Witch Queen of Darkfaller has taken over one of the most powerful castles in the center of the kingdom, he has to marshal all his resources—political, military, and arcane—to try to drive her from the strategic and symbolically important stronghold.

Locked in a Mexican jail for a crime he didn't commit, Jess Galvan made a devil's bargain to escape and make it back home. Now, he's trapped in his own personal hell, his mind and body inhabited by the soul of Cucuy, a fearsome, 500-year-old Aztec priest and major crime kingpin determined to bring about hell on earth. Estranged from his daughter, Sherry, and now his own body, Galvan's every moment is a battle to keep the evil priest at bay.