K.S. Villoso

An empire's quest for magic has brought a golden age on a bed of corpses and lost kingdoms. In the cold wake of grief, those left behind must learn to pick up the pieces. A character-driven tale that juggles slice-of-life and epic all at once in the footsteps of Robin Hobb's Farseer. Come and discover Villoso's debut fantasy series, which has been called ambitious, remarkably solid, and expertly set up.Book Geeks' Uncompromised Top Books of 2017The Weatherwax Report Top 10 IndieTome and Tankard's Best of 2017Nominated for Best Self-Published/Independent Novel of 2017 for r/fantasy's Stabby AwardsNominated for Best Novel of 2017 for r/fantasy's Stabby Awardsr/fantasy's RRAWR Book of the Month for September 2017After a botched job gets his friend killed, the mercenary Kefier is chased down by former associates for the crime. Already once branded a murderer, he comes face-to-face with his friend's sister, Sume: a young woman reeling from her own string of bad luck, and the last person he would ever want to confess to. Their lives, unknowingly tangled before they've met, are now thrown into upheaval as one flees from the past and the other runs to it. In the meantime, the young, arrogant merchant Ylir takes a special interest in Kefier while he battles with a powerful mage, one whose name has been long forgotten in legend. At the crux of their conflict is that same, terrible creature with one eye, cast from the womb of a witch, with powers so immense whoever possesses it holds the key to bring the continent to its knees.

Pablo Santos--reckless, irresponsible, social misfit--doesn't want to join his dad in Canada. He wants to stay in Manila with his best friend, Rachel Ann. In a fit of rage, he decides to get even by breaking into the old man's email account. A simple security question stumps him: “Where was father born?” The fact that he doesn’t know anything about his father’s past pushes Pablo to take a journey across the sprawling Philippine countryside. He is accompanied by the spoiled, spirited Rachel Ann, who had just dumped her latest boyfriend and can't seem to get over it like usual. Rachel Ann’s father suspects them of eloping and they find themselves hiding out in a farming village to escape the heat. Here, their vacation takes a turn for the worse when they meet a sullen boy Rachel Ann falls head over heels for, an old man with a taste for raw flesh, and a beautiful girl who seduces Pablo, drops half her body, and tries to eat him. Suddenly, Pablo's quest becomes more than he bargained for as he is led to some unsettling discoveries about his family, his father, and most importantly, himself.

Glory is for the gods. The rest make do. From the author of THE AGARTES EPILOGUES and the critically acclaimed THE WOLF OF OREN-YARO comes this coming-of-age fantasy about people trying their best to survive in a grim, unforgiving world. Growing up in a quiet farm, Luc "Lucky" son of Jak didn't think much of the world until he fails the military entrance exam and finds himself responsible for a group of vicious, bloodthirsty mercenaries. Raised to be honest, upright, and true, his own ideals clash with the mercenaries' shaky morals. His problems take a turn for the worst when he falls into a trap set by Roena Blackwood. The eldest of Duke Iorwin's daughters, Roena is adamant that life can only go her way. A high priest's prophecy causes her to rethink her options and take the path less travelled: that of a travelling mercenary. But killing monsters and saving villages can only get interesting for so long. Luc and Roena find themselves in a twisted plot concocted by none other than the merchant Ylir yn Garr. Together, they must learn to set aside their differences and work together to prevent disaster, even if it means confronting what they ran away from in the first place.

A girl turned warrior entrusted with one return with the dragon or lose everything. Clan, family, duty-the tenets of the Oren-yaro are you are swords first, servants first. Yet no one expects much from the youngest daughter, not even when your family is sworn to the wolves who rule the land. At an age when most of her sisters have wed and borne children, Anira remain nursemaid to a decrepit father and an ailing mother, forgotten by a world moving too fast for her liking. When her elder brother deserts Warlord Yeshin's army, she is forced to step up to save her family from disgrace. Plunged into a world of bloodshed, Anira becomes the unlikely last link to a tyrant's plans as she is tasked with bringing home the first dragon their kingdom has seen in decades. The arrival of a mercenary band, hell-bent on the same goal, creates a rivalry between her and their stubborn, unyielding leader. To seize the prize, Anira must risk vengeful ancients, debased rituals, and even her own sanity. With her family's freedom on the line, does she have a choice? When death comes calling, who will pay the price for her allegiance?

"The true story, as always, is in the details." After a botched job leaves his friend dead, the mercenary Kefier is chased down by former associates for the crime. Already once branded a murderer, fate seems to continue to frown on him when he comes face-to-face with his friend's sister, Sume: a young woman reeling from her own string of bad luck, and the last person he would ever want to confess to. Their lives, unknowingly tangled before they've even met, are now thrown into upheaval as one flees from the past and the other runs to it. In the meantime, the young, arrogant merchant Ylir takes a special interest in Kefier while he battles with a powerful mage, one whose name has been long forgotten in legend. At the crux of their conflict is a terrible creature with one eye, cast from the womb of a forlorn woman, with powers so immense whoever possesses it holds the key to bring the continent to its knees.

Despite Rosha's best efforts, she will never fit in. To her classmates, she is forever an outsider, a girl from the fringes of the empire just lucky enough to have well-off parents. To her teachers, she is either a charity case or an exception to the rule that Gorenten just aren't capable of performing complex magic. Worse, still, she is nothing but a status symbol to her father—a child gifted with magic to show his powerful friends that even people like them could belong in the empire. As if she doesn't have enough problems already. Haunted by the invisible rules that pull her dreams just out of grasp, she walks out on the eve of her final exams, throwing away her one chance at becoming an official mage of the empire. She practices magic outside the mage council's grasp, one of the worst crimes anyone could commit. A dropout. A failure. An outlaw. Years later, her father's shoddy business deals have finally landed him in trouble and he disappears without a trace. Rosha reluctantly enters the services of a rich sorcerer, his last known connection. The sorcerer’s sudden death leaves her stranded in a sea of enemies—and the knowledge that the man is the voice behind the ageless, faceless emperor. To protect herself and her family, Rosha must impersonate the most powerful man in the empire. As she becomes everything she has ever hated, she stumbles upon conspiracies that seek to break the empire from within...

"Remember...the world as you see it was not made brick by brick, every piece falling where it must. What you see is the overlap, what is left when all mistakes have been made—castles built from rubble, broken things passing for whole. A battle lost can be fought again, if you know to pick up the weapons of the fallen and arm the ones who stand. Not many realize this. Most think the fates decide, and like fools let fate dictate the rest of their lives. Follow your heart. It will see you through the darkness and guide you through hellfire." The battle at Shi-uin has left scars. The rise of Gorrhen yn Garr to power seems unstoppable. As nations fall, the lines between love and duty become blurred and Kefier, Sume, and Enosh must learn to live with the choices they have made. The stunning conclusion to the epic fantasy trilogy that crosses champion and spectator, friends and enemies, and hero and foe in a tale of conflict, revenge, and lost kingdoms. Highly-praised for character development and rich worldbuilding, The Agartes Epilogues is a must-read for the discerning epic fantasy fan.

The stunning finale to the Chronicles of the Bitch Queen trilogy where the queen of a divided land must unite her people against the enemies who threaten to tear her country apart. K. S. Villoso is a "powerful new voice in fantasy." (Kameron Hurley) Queen Talyien is finally home, but dangers she never imagined await her in the shadowed halls of her father's castle. War is on the horizon. Her son has been stolen from her, her warlords despise her, and across the sea, a cursed prince threatens her nation with invasion in order to win her hand. Worse yet, her father's ancient secrets are dangerous enough to bring Jin Sayeng to ruin. Dark magic tears rifts in the sky, preparing to rain down madness, chaos, and the possibility of setting her nation aflame. Bearing the brunt of the past and uncertain about her future, Talyien will need to decide between fleeing her shadows or embracing them before the whole world becomes an inferno. The Chronicles of the Bitch Queen The Wolf of Oren-yaro The Ikessar Falcon The Dragon of Jin-Sayeng

"Intricate, intimate, and intensely plotted." - Nicholas Eames on The Wolf of Oren-yaro"The Ikessar Falcon retains the excellent characterization and intrigue of The Wolf of Oren-yaro while expanding both its world and the plot at a head-spinning rate. It does everything the middle book of a trilogy should with an uncommon degree of authorial skill, and is a thoroughly entertaining read in its own right."―BookPage The stunning sequel to The Wolf of Oren-yaro where the queen of a divided land struggles to unite her people. Even if they despise her. K. S. Villoso is a "powerful new voice in fantasy." (Kameron Hurley) The spiral to madness begins with a single push. Abandoned by her people, Queen Talyien's quest takes a turn for the worst as she stumbles upon a plot deeper and more sinister than she could have ever imagined, one that will displace her king and see her son dead. The road home beckons, strewn with a tangled web of deceit and impossible horrors that unearth the nation's true troubles - creatures from the dark, mad dragons, and men with hearts hungry for power. To save her land, Talyien must confront the myth others have built around her: Warlord Yeshin's daughter, symbol of peace, warrior and queen, and everything she could never be. The price of failure is steep. Her friends are few. And a nation carved by a murderer can only be destined for war. 

A queen of a divided land must unite her people, even if they hate her, even if it means stopping a ruin that she helped create. A debut epic fantasy from an exciting new voice. "I murdered a man and made my husband leave the night before they crowned me." Born under the crumbling towers of Oren-yaro, Queen Talyien was the shining jewel and legacy of the bloody War of the Wolves that nearly tore her nation apart. Her upcoming marriage to the son of her father's rival heralds peaceful days to come. But his sudden departure before their reign begins fractures the kingdom beyond repair. Years later, Talyien receives a message, urging her to attend a meeting across the sea. It's meant to be an effort at reconciliation, but an assassination attempt leaves the queen stranded and desperate to survive in a dangerous land. With no idea who she can trust, she's on her own as she struggles to fight her way home.