A brand new fantasy world from Larry Correia, New York Times bestselling author of Monster Hunter International!
All Oz Carnavon ever wanted was to become a master mage.
Except, to do so requires the natural gifts or wealth necessary to secure an appointment to one of the prestigious magical academies in the Core City at the center of the seven realms. Oz had neither.
He was born without magical talent, serving in the elemental plane of fire, a nightmarish hellscape of treacherous lava and vicious monsters, where life is cheap, and escape is rare. But Carnavons never give up.
When Oz fakes his death to get out of his family’s contract and crosses the Nexus gate to sneak into the Core, everything seems to be going according to plan. Until he gets blamed for an assassination attempt on the fire realm’s ambassador.
Now, Oz must become a fugitive in a vast magical city, while trying to earn a place among the magical academies which have nothing but disdain for his kind.
And the clock is ticking, because in one week, the most dangerous wizard in the realm of fire is coming to track him down and drag him back to hell.
Experience this epic new saga from LARRY CORREIA, award-winning author of Monster Hunter International and Saga of the Forgotten Warrior. This progression fantasy epic features a D&D-inspired setting split by portals into elemental realms, slow-growth power progression, magic academies, and unforgettable characters!
“Inventive magic systems, plenty of action, and an unforgettable new hero in OZ CARNAVON. A powerhouse read!” —Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author of Joe Ledger and Rot & Ruin.
For fans of Dungeons and Dragons, Malazan Book of the Fallen series, V.E. Schwab’s Shades of Magic series (A Darker Shade of Magic, A Gathering of Shadows, A Conjuring of Light), The Magicians (Lev Grossman), Naomi Novik’s The Scholomance series (A Deadly Education, The Last Graduate, The Golden Enclaves), Ninth House and Hell Bent (Leigh Bardugo), and The Name of the Wind (Patrick Rothfuss).
The series
In a world where power is measured by the spark of magic you are born with, Oz Carnavon begins with nothing but fire at his back. Raised in the brutal realm of flame, where survival means strength and every weakness is consumed, he has no gift, no standing, and no future. When he takes the unthinkable step of faking his own death and fleeing through a portal into the Core, a city that sits at the crossroads of the elemental realms, everything changes.
Read full series description
The Core is a place of gleaming academies, ruthless politics, and centuries-old hierarchies that decide who rises and who is crushed. It is also the last place someone like Oz is welcome. Branded an outcast before he ever crosses the threshold, he finds himself entangled in conspiracies he never meant to touch, accused of crimes that could see him executed, and hunted by forces more dangerous than anything he left behind in the fire realm.
What makes this series burn with life is not just the spectacle of elemental magic or the deadly intrigues of academy halls, but the question at its heart: can someone with no destiny forge one through will alone? Oz’s struggle is a slow, grueling climb, a progression fantasy where each step forward is earned in blood, defiance, and impossible choices.
With its blend of portal fantasy, elemental realms, and the tension of an academy that doubles as a crucible, Academy of Outcasts offers a darker take on the magic school tradition. Here, ambition is dangerous, belonging comes at a cost, and every victory carries the weight of survival.
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