A new emperor has arisen. But this is a bitter-sweet experience for the many fans worldwide who adore the characters with which Christopher Nuttall has populated the exhilarating world of the Bookworm. Ahead of them, the witch-King waits, biding his time as he prepares for his ascension. Happy to see such an exciting conclusion to the story, we are all sad that such a fantastic series has to end.

But if they cannot prepare a defence in time, the entire world will die when the Witch-King rises from his tomb. With the publication of this, the fourth and final instalment in the Bookworm series, the story is complete. As they endure terrible dangers – and figures from the past – Elaine and Johan come to realise that Elaine’s knowledge of magic and the bond between them may be the only thing standing between the Witch-King and godhood.

. Behind them, the armies of the new emperor – a man permanently poised on the verge of madness – give chase, unleashing monsters and spells from the long-buried past on everyone who stands in their way. Having escaped from the golden city, johan and their friends - including some strange allies with goals of their own - race desperately towards Ida, Elaine, hiding place of the ancient Witch-King.

And the Empire is collapsing into chaos.

Bookworm III: The Best Laid Plans

Realising this has to be the work of the Witch-King, Elaine must defeat the spell that is eating away at her defences if she is to escape and destroy him. Taken to the palace she finds that the Grand Sorceress has been removed and the Throne has accepted an heir to the Empire. The recent escalating breakdown of social order can only be made worse by the return of an Emperor and the imposition of martial law.

When she resists she is hit with a powerful spell that forces her to concentrate all her efforts on protecting her mind from its intrusion. Elaine and johan are preparing to leave Golden City, with Daria and the travellers, in order to search for the Witch-King. But before elaine can leave she is arrested by two Inquisitors on the orders of the Emperor.

The grand sorceress instructs Inquisitor Cass to help them. Meanwhile, johan, daria and cass are trying to find a way to get to Elaine and break her out of the cell in which she is being held. The golden city is still widely devastated from the disastrous battle for power that followed the death of the previous Grand Sorcerer.

The privy councillors and heads of the Great Houses succumb to the power of the new Emperor, as he amasses a huge army. It is up to elaine and her friends, with some unexpected help, to prevent an all-out war. The third instalment in the bookworm series, the best laid Plans follows on immediately from the events in The Very Ugly Duckling, with Elaine and Johan joined by other favourite characters as they try to track down the Witch-King.

Bookworm II: The Very Ugly Duckling

Elaine must unlock the mystery behind his powers before the political factions can kill him. But when a political protest goes horrifically wrong, Johan discovers that his true powers have merely been buried, waiting for their chance to explode into the world. Johan is a powerless, a person born to a magical family yet lacking powers of his own.

. But for the golden city, reeling after the devastation of six months earlier, he may be the greatest threat the city has ever seen. Not every ugly duckling becomes a swan. In the wake of the disastrous attack on the golden City, the Bookworm, Lady Light Spinner has become Grand Sorceress and Elaine, has been settling into her positions as Head Librarian and Privy Councillor.

But any hope of vanishing into her books is negated when a new magician of staggering power appears in the city, one whose abilities seem to defy the known laws of magic. Or use him to unleash a nightmare. Returning to well-loved characters from christopher Nuttall’s bestselling Bookworm and introducing new ones, Bookworm II: The Very Ugly Duckling explores power – and the effect it has on the human mind.

As he comes to grips with his newfound talents, he discovers that he finally has a chance to realise his ambitions.

Bookworm

It’s also terribly dangerous. The knowledge locked away in the great Library was meant to remain permanently sealed and letting it out could mean a repeat of the catastrophic Necromantic Wars of five hundred years earlier. But all that changes when she triggers a magical trap and ends up with all the knowledge from the Great Library – including forbidden magic that no one is supposed to know – stuffed inside her head.

Now, the grand sorcerer – the most powerful magician of them all – is dying, although initially that makes little difference to Elaine; she certainly doesn’t have the power to compete for higher status in the Golden City. If the senior wizards find out what has happened to her, they will almost certainly have her killed.

Unless she can unlock the mysteries behind her new knowledge, divine the unfolding plan, and discover the truth about her own origins, there is no hope for those she loves, the Golden City or her entire world. Bookworm has won the gold award in the Adult fiction category of the 2013 Wishing Shelf Independent Book Awards.

Her limited talent was enough to ensure a magical training but she’s very inexperienced and was lucky to get a position working in the Great Library. Elaine is an orphan girl who has grown up in a world where magical ability brings power. Elaine is forced to struggle with the terrors and temptations represented by her newfound knowledge, all the while trying to stay out of sight of those she fears, embodied by the sinister Inquisitor Dread.

This unwanted gift doesn’t give her greater power, but it does give her a better understanding of magic, allowing her to accomplish far more than ever before.

The Alchemist's Apprentice The Zero Enigma Book 5

The great houses plot and plan against one another, while the magicians rebuild and the common folk fear another outburst of fighting. A stand-alone novel set in The Zero Enigma Universe. Five months after the House War, the city of Shallot is on edge. But when her master undertakes a commission for an enigmatic young nobleman, she finds herself drawn into a maelstrom of criminals, ambitious nobles and a plan that may shake the foundations of the Great Houses themselves.

. And one young nobleman has a plan. Rebecca is a half-caste shopgirl in an apothecary, dreaming of an apprenticeship that will allow her to rise out of poverty and finally make a name for herself in a city that has no use for her kind.

The Broken Throne Schooled in Magic Book 16

Caught in the middle, emily must steer a course between her loyalty to her friend, her duty to people who put their faith in her and her fears for the future. But king randor has unleashed forces even he may be unable to control. On one side, determined to impose his rule over the entire kingdom; on another, the noblemen who want to crush the king; on a third, King Randor and his forces, Princess Alassa and the Levellers.

The kingdom of Zangaria has fallen into civil war.

The Princess in the Tower Schooled in Magic Book 15

Everyone knows that the Tower of Alexis is impregnable. But emily intends to prove them wrong. The kingdom of Zangaria has finally started its descent into civil war. But as emily and her friends are drawn into a maelstrom of rebellious factions and crown loyalists, of commoners trying to escape the chaos and noblemen trying to make it worse, they find themselves faced with an insolvable problem.

If they manage to liberate alassa - and put her on the throne - will there be anything left of Zangaria for her to rule? King randor has declared martial law, imprisoned the pregnant Crown Princess Alassa in the Tower of Alexis and started preparations for a first strike against his enemies. The time has come for everyone to choose a side.

Emily has arrived in Alexis with the intention of freeing Alassa before her father can have her executed.

The Family Shame The Zero Enigma Book 4

Intruders on the grounds, ghostly shadows moving at night. But as she tries to settle into kirkhaven Hall, and a life far from the one she enjoyed before her fall from grace, she discovers that the hall has secrets. Isabella rubén is a traitor - at twelve years old. Disgraced, abandoned by her friends and shunned by her family, Isabella is sent into exile with scant hope of returning to her former home.

And a plot that may destroy everything she once held dear. Existence as she knew it is over. Her destination, kirkhaven Hall; a stone mansion miles from civilisation, inhabited only by a pair of older exiles.

The Zero Equation The Zero Enigma Book 3

Or watch helplessly as her family, friends and school are destroyed by war. The great houses of shallot are on the verge of going to war and the conflict is spilling into the school, while - in the background - powerful and secretive forces prepare to finally reveal their plans to reshape the world. But she’s still at the centre of the storm.

Caitlyn and her friends have returned to Jude’s Sorcerous Academy, but all is not well in the school. Caught in the middle, torn between her family and her friends - and burdened with a secret she dares not share - Cat must unlock the secret of the Zero Equation. Caitlyn Aguirre is no magician.

The Zero Curse The Zero Enigma Book 2

Caitlyn Aguirre is no magician. And when she and her closest friends become the target of a deadly plot, she must use all her wits to save them and escape before she becomes the first casualty in a deadly war. And some to remove her. But that doesn't make her useless. After discovering her true talent and uncovering the long-lost secret behind Objects of Power, Cat returns to school - intent on showing everyone what she can do.

But her mere existence is a threat to the balance of power, convincing some to befriend her, some to try to use her.

The Zero Blessing The Zero Enigma Book 1

If she lives long enough to find it. But by the time she reached her twelfth birthday, caitlyn hadn't even managed to cast a single spell! In desperation, her parents send her - and her magical sisters - to Jude’s Sorcerous Academy, her last best chance to discover her powers. But as she struggles to survive her classes without a single spell to her name, Caitlyn starts to uncover an ancient mystery that may prove the key to her true powers.

. Caitlyn Aguirre should have been a magician. Her family certainly expected her to be a magician.