I’m addicted to the chase. The chase of old and often hard to find volumes. Complete sets and just anything that looks interesting, or odd. Sure, some of these can be easily found from Booktopia or Amazon with newer printings, but where is the fun in that. Why would I sit at my computer and order a brand new set of books when I can chase them down over several weeks and through multiple shops. Often finding other interesting series with gaps that start more hunts. And the snowball continues to roll down the mountain 😆. Plus a lot of these are out of print, so the hunt is required.

All that is my long way of saying I have a lot of books to show you today. All of these have been collected since my last treasure post. Almost all of these were bought because of those two treasure posts. In terms of going to fill gaps, and being too weak not to buy other books at the same time, which perpetuates the hunt and the more books. Oh dear, here we go again. Are you still with me? 😆 I’m sure some of you reading this post right now will understand the rabbit holes of secondhand bookshops. But oh what fun they are.

As per the last two treasure posts, you might want to fetch your water and snacks as we will be here a while. There are more than 50 books to share. I’m not going to present them in any order. Basically just the order in which I pulled them out of the massive pile to photograph.

The Shattered World by Michael Reaves was a completely random buy. I found it in the section of the bookshop where the more obscure or tatty copies are kept and it sounded interesting enough to give it a try.

A millennium ago the Necromanccer unleashed cataclysm upon the world. Shattered into a thousand pieces, the fragmented planet is held togethr only by the great spells of the ancient sorcerers. But in a thousand years even spells grow old.

Beorn, a shape changer who is half man, half bear, has fallen into the sinister clutches of Ardatha the sorceress, whose mission requires his skills as a master thief. Her goal: to make Earth whole again. And she will stop at nothing – even the resurrection of the Necromancer – to fulfil her destiny.

Did I need to pick up a new series, and one missing book one at that? No. But I did anyway and got A Man Betrayed and Master and Fool by JV Jones.

I’ve not heard of Paul Kearney before, but I found books two to four in his The Monarchies of God series and they looked interesting. I’ll have to keep my eye out for book one.

Finally, I have completed by collection of The Tower and the Hive series by Anne McCaffrey. The concluding volume, The Tower and the Hive, was the most elusive, but I got there in the end.

I managed to track down a copy of book one from David Hair’s Moontide Quartet, Mage’s Blood. I could have bought it brand new, but that would mean it would come with an annoying permanent sticker on it. No I don’t like A Song of Ice and Fire (book one was good, book two still decent, book three was not good, and book four was so bad I didn’t force myself to finish it) and putting a permanent sticker on the book telling me I’ll like it if I liked that other series is more likely going to make me put it down unread!

The Moontide is coming, and the world stand on the brink of war…

Every twelve years the tides sink to their absolute lowest and the Leviathan Bridge rises above the waves, linking the Eastern and Western continents for twenty-four short months.

The Rondian Emperor, the overlord of the West, is hell-bent on ruling both continents, and for the last two Moontides, his crusading armies have crossed the bridge and raped and pillaged their way across Antiopia.

Now the next Moontide is almost here. As the battle-mages of the Third Crusade gather in the West, holy shihad is declared in the East. This time the two civilisations will clash as never before.

And three ordinary people – a failed mage, a jaded mercenary and a lowly market girl – are about to discover that their actions may determine the fate of nations.

When hunting for Deathworld, I found Winter in Eden by Harry Harrison. It looked so interesting, but of course was book two of a trilogy. Thankfully, I have managed to track down the other two, West of Eden and Return to Eden.

The cosmic catastrophe that ended the Age of the Dinosaurs 65 million years ago in the world we know never happened. The evolution of the great reptiles continued, climaxing with the Yilané, the most intelligent and advanced race on Earth. But when then onset of a new Ice Age forces them to cross the ocean to explore and colonise a vast, strange continent, they clash violently with a savage new breed of mammal that they have never before encountered. Mammals that walk erect, hunt and use crude stone tools – and weapons…

I managed to find The Song of Homana and A Pride of Princes, books two and five of the Chronicles of the Cheysuli by Jennifer Roberson. Now I only have book one left to track down.

I added four more volumes to my Andre Norton collection. The great thing with most of Andre Norton’s books is that while many are in collections of related books, they are often not a true series and can be read at will. I think Flight in Yiktor might need to be read in order in the books of the Moon of Three Rings, but the rest I think can be read alone.

Star Rangers:

The scoutship Starfire had seen too many missions. She could have blown anywhere – crashing on an Earth-type planet was pure luck. The crew were hopelessly stranded, but at least they could breathe, eat, and drink without fear of sudden death.

Then one night a beacon swept the sky, and the survivors knew they were not alone.

So Ranger Sergeant Kartr set out to investigate. But even his highly developed senses were no match for the dreadful evil he encountered. And if he and the other rangers could not stop that evil, they might never discover this world’s secret – the answer to mankind’s greatest mystery.

No Night Without Stars:

Sander should have succeeded his father as master metalsmith, but the men of his Mob felt he was too young. Determined to prove himself, Sander set out to rediscover the legendary metal forging skills of the Before People.

Along the way he met Fanyi, who had her own reason for seeking the ancient ruins. Intent on avenging the destruction of her village, she pinned her hopes on the weapons of the Before People.

But to reach their goal, they had to make their way across a ravaged land, past rotting ruins where mutant monsters lurked. And then they would have to face a terrible evil that craved their minds – to take over the world.

Voorloper:

VOOR: A new planet, declared free and open to settlers by Survey testers; a wild but fertile land, dotted with impenetrable brush and lonely wastelands that remain unexplored, where frontiersmen had hoped to carve out new lives for their families. But a Shadow stalks on Voor, striking without warning at isolated settlements, killing nearly all, and leaving Shadow-touched and forever strange those few who are left alive. Now an oddly-matched trio has set out to learn the secret of the Shadow Death, heading deeper into the wastelands than anyone has ever gone: an embittered wanderer and his son, and a young girl who bears a Healer’s gifts. All are Shadow-touched; what they had to lose is lost already; they are free now to risk their lives in search of the truth.

When pulling together the list of Darkover books, I discovered that the reading order/grouping within the omnibus I had isn’t actually the publication order, but chronological, or at least grouped by Age. I prefer to read series in publication order so I find out information when I’m supposed to, and don’t spoil reveals. So I picked up this omnibus because it has The Bloody Sun, which was the first Darkover novel published.

Jeff Kerwin had spent his early years in the Spacemen’s Orphanage in the Terran Trade City on Darkover. Yet he was haunted by dreams of the world surrounding this Terran oasis, a world he somehow felt had once been his. Shipped back to Earth at the age of twelve, Jeff could not escape the conviction that only on Darkover would he discover who he truly was.

But when he finally returned to the planet of the Bloody Sun as a member of the Terran Spaceforce, he still felt like an outcast. For though he had the red hair of a comyn lord and carried a powerful matrix jewle, he had no memory of how he had acquired it. Only if he managed to learn the secrets of the Towers could he hope to unlock the mystery of his heritage.

I’ve been thinking of picking up the Bitterbynde trilogy by Cecilia Dart-Thornton for quite some time – since I saw the full trilogy at Arty Bees in Wellington in a pretty good condition. Of course by the time I decided to get it, someone else had already taken it home. But I have managed to find book two, The Lady of the Sorrows, and book three, The Battle of Evernight. I’ve got a lead on book one so it should be a complete trilogy before too long.

The Guardian Cycle by Julia Gray is another series I have been thinking of picking up for a while. I decide this week was finally time to bring it home before it too disappeared.

The birth of the Emperor’s son had been prophesied many years before. The child would be the Guardian, saviour of his people. What had not been foreseen was the fact that there would be two imperial children born that night.

Jax, the firstborn, is raised in the Imperial Palace and groomed for his role as the future leader of The Floating Islands. The fate of his twin brother Terrel is sealed at birth. Banished to a distant lace, he will be raised in a world filled with pain and suffering.

Both Jax and Terrel have hidden talents, but is either the true Guardian? When the Islands begin to change course, and an ancient prophecy begins to unfold, it soon becomes clear that the identity of the saviour has to be known.

Magi’i of Cyador by LE Modesitt Jr is the first book in the Recluce Saga that I haven’t read. That is, I read all the books up to this one, but when I got up to this one, it had only just come out and the wait at the library was long. Needless to say, life got in the way of picking it and the subsequent books up and continuing in this saga. I have been building my own collection of this series, a mixture of new and secondhand, and have managed to get all 9 books that I have read. So I was quite happy to find a copy of the first in the rest of the saga that are new to me.

I have collected, but not yet read, another series by Modesitt, but this one looked interesting too, so I had to get the first two books of The Corean Chronicles.

Corus has entered a new dark age. Its kingdoms lie in a state of perpetual conflict, while the people live in dread of supernatural beasts and bizarre animals that roam the wilds. Few humans still possess magical Talent, and those that do are condemned to a lifetime in service of their realm.

Seeking to avoid such a fate, Alucius, a young but powerful mage, signs up for the Militia. It proves an unwise choice. For the land of Corus is invaded by a slave army under the command of the immortal monarch Madrien and the Militia are soon hopelessly overstretched. Alucius must either accept his fate and reveal his growing Talent, or stand by while his homeland falls into shadow and despair.

I have added to by CJ Cherryh collection too. Exile’s Gate is the final book after the Morgaine trilogy that I have in a single volume. I passed along my omnibus edition of the first three books of the Chanur to a friend as I found a copy of The Pride of Chanur. This copy isn’t in very good shape, but there is another copy I have my eye on that looks to be much better. The Tree of Swords and Jewels is the sequel to The Dreamstone, I think. And I have a lead on it. Brothers of the Earth sounds interesting and I had been thinking of picking it up for a while – alas I got sent the uninteresting volume, so I may just have to swap it out for my preferred cover version, which I have seen elsewhere. Hammerfall has been at Arty Bees for several subsequent visits and I decided I should finally bring it home with me before it disappeared.

Hammerfall:

A prince and a warrior, Marak had dedicated his life to overthrowing the Ila, the mysterious eternal dictator of his desert planet. But a twist of fate will entrust him with protecting her life – and those of her subjects – from the wrath of a powerful foe beyond their world. But do do so, Marak must lead them in an impossible caravan across burning sand plains. Yet one among them is determined to destroy Marak. And with his death will come the end of life itself.

After finding book two of Songs of Earth and Power by Greg Bear, I had to go looking for book one. It took a while, but I was happy to finally find The Infinity Concerto. I’m glad I found book two first, as the blurb grabbed my attention much more than what is on the back of this copy, so I might not have picked it up if I came across book one first – and that would have been a shame.

There is a song you dare not sing… a melody that you dare not play, a concerto that you dare not hear: it is called a Song of Power.

It is a gateway to another world – a gate that will lock behind you as you pass, barring you from the Earth forever.

Resist at all cost. For it is a world of great danger and great beauty – and it is not good to be human in the Realm of the Sidhe.

I had found an interesting book with a cool cover by Jack L. Chalker at my local bookshop. But I somehow managed some restraint and took a photo of it instead, so that I could check the bookshop in Wellington to see if they had any of the other books in the series (I think I found book two). They didn’t, but The Web of the Chozen looked just too interesting to pass by. Mostly the cover made me buy this book, but the blurb sounded like it might be a fun read.

Nobody beats Bar Holliday. He was paid to find Terraformable worlds, new planets for his corporation to plunder. Up until the day he came upon the Peace Victory, an abandoned generation ship hovering ominously above a definitely habitable planet, he believed nobody ever could.

Nobody beats Bar Holliday… because he was never satisfied with anything lower than first place, because he was always the oddball, in charge of his own welfare, his own destiny… a man determined to make his mark in the world and win all games at any cost.

Nobody ever beats Bar Holliday… because he only took the wrong chances at the right times. But on the planet Patmos, where everything looked safe, but nothing was, Bar Holliday had at last met his match!

I found a new-to-me author Freda Warrington at my local. Her books A Blackbird in Darkness, A Blackbird in Amber and A Blackbird in Twilight sounded very interesting. Now I just need to find the first book, A Blackbird in Darkness.

When I went looking for A Blackbird in Silver in Wellington, I didn’t find it, but I did find The Rainbow Gate.

Which of the worlds was real? And where were the boundaries?

As a child, Helen and her friend Rianna had wandered freely into an enchanted other-world of bright-coloured creatures and strangely beautiful people. Then Rianna had moved away and the enchantment had vanished.

Now, fifteen years later, she had returned suddenly, secretive and haunted. And soon Helen found herself drawn back across those half-forgotten, ever-shifting boundaries between reality and fable. Drawn back into the twin lands of Tevara: the sun-bright, singing lands of the Chalcenians and the chill, sad underworld of the Domendrans.

Very different but connected worlds, their pull was growing stronger. As other people were dragged in, wonder gave way to bewilderment and fright. An age-old conflict between the realms of light and darkness had broken through into Helen’s everyday world and was threatening to sweep her away.

As well as book one in another series, The Amber Citadel.

Two hundred and fifty years ago, humans defeated the shape-changing Bhahdradomen in the War of the Silver Plains. But, although they are exiled, or thought to be extinct, the shapechangers’ hatred and jealousy of the humans live on. Now, in the failings of a human king, they find a way to assuage that hatred. Meanwhile the third race, the mysterious Aelyr, keep apart from humans, whilst also considering the Bhahdradomen as enemies.

Tanthe and Ysomir are sisters, living in the village of Riverwynde, two thousand miles from the capital city, Parione. While Ysomir is in live with Lynden, son of the village’s leader, Tanthe is bored with village life and wishes to leave for the wonders of Parione. But the king’s growing madness and the Bhahdradomen’s wiles soon lead to terrible events, the abduction of Ysomir, and the beginning of a long journey for Tanthe, Lynden and his brother Rufryd, as they set out for the Amber Citadel of Parione.

The covers of this set of The Artefacts of Power by Maggie Furey made me want to know more. It looked like an interesting world.

In ages past, there had been four magical weapons, fashioned to be used only by the Magefolk. But their history had been lost, together with the artefacts themselves, in the Cataclysm which had wrought changes on land and water alike. Lost also had been the history of the Magefolk, and the Winged Ones, the Leviathans, and Phaerie.

Aurian, child of renegade Mages, finds herself sent to the city of Nexis to join the Academy and then train as a full Mage. Little does she suspect that she will quickly become entwined with a power struggle between Miathan, the Archmage, and the human inhabitants of Nexis. The only person to whom she can turn is Forral, Commander of the city’s military garrison and friend of her dead father. But this friendship infuriates Miathan, and leads to a deadly conflagration, in which the first Artefact is revealed. Aurian’s flight, with her servant Anvar, turns into both odyssey and rite-of-passage as she travels to the little-known Southern Kingdoms and begins to rediscover the history of the weapons which are the only hope against Miathan and Armageddon – The Artefacts of Power.

I managed to find the remaining two books I needed of The Book of Önd by Jane Welch, so now I have all three connecting trilogies.

Helliconia Winter by Brian Aldiss caught my eye, and sounded great. Alas, it is book three, so another hunt has begun.

Carol Berg has been on my radar for a while, so when I found all four books of The Bridge of D’Arnath, I had to pick it up.

Sorcerers are the stuff of legends, used as bogeymen to frighten children. Any magic has long been soured from the Four Realms, and to be accused of associating with a suspected sorcerer means death – or worse…

Seri is a Leiran noblewoman living in exile. She wants nothing to do with the intrigues of her royal family, the politics of power, the unjust laws of her people. But her world is rent asunder when she shelters from Leiran soldiers a fugitive – a man with the skills of a warrior who is incapable of speech and quite possibly mad.

There is more to this stranger than meets the eye. And now Seri must help him remember who and what he is before those responsible for his condition find him… and unleash an apocalypse against the world.

My local bookshop had the full set, I assume, of The Ea Cycle by David Zindell. I think I picked up book two (Lord of Lies) first and it sounded interesting, then I checked which books were in the same series.

On the island continent of Ea it is late in the Age of the Dragon. It is a dark time of chaos, war, and the dashed dreams of long-lost ages. Once again Morjin, the fallen angel, is seeking the Lightstone. With it he will eventually find a way to free the Lord of Lies, the dark archangel imprisoned for a million years.

But strangely, it is also a time of light as the earth and sun once again enter the Golden Band. A champion has been born who will seek the Lightstone so that the prophecy of a new and glorious age can be fulfilled. His name is Valashu Elahad, the seventh son of the King of Mesh. Blessed (or cursed?) with an empathy for all living things, he will lead his people into the lands of Morjin, into the heart of darkness, wielding a magical sword call Alkaladur.

I keep changing my mind as to which of these I’m the most happy to have found. Luckily, I don’t need to pick a favourite. I just need to find time to read them all. And continue the chase to fill those series gaps.