Happy Publication Day: 8th August 2019!
An absolute smorgasbord of books for you to enjoy today! Ranging from the most epic of fantasies to a murder-mystery in a seemingly idyllic American town, you’re sure to find something to add to the reading pile. And while you’re at it, you can grab yourself a Discworld Journal to keep track of all your higher thoughts and dreams. Read on! See what we have in store(s) for you . . .
We Are The Dead, Mike Shackle
The first book in The Last War series: a debut epic fantasy full of crunching revolutionary action, twisted magic, and hard choices in dark times.
The war is over. The enemy won.
Jia’s people learned the hard way that there are no second chances. The Egril, their ancient enemy, struck with magic so devastating that Jia’s armies were wiped out. Now terror reigns in the streets, and friend turns on friend just to live another day.
Somehow Tinnstra – a deserter, a failure, nothing but a coward – survived. She wants no more than to hide from the chaos.
But dragged into a desperate plot to retake Jia, surrounded by people willing to do anything to win the fight, this time Tinnstra will need to do more than hide.
If Jia is to get a second chance after all, this time she will need to be a hero.
Praise for Mike Shackle:
‘Likely the next Game of Thrones, and the best book I’ve read in several years. Erikson, Martin and Rothfuss are going to have to shove over and make room at the bar. A gem. Not one likeable character in the swamp but I still became totally emotionally engaged. I can’t think how to tone down my enthusiasm’ Glen Cook
‘Like Tarantino crossed with David Gemmell . . . Absolutely splendid. Shackle has come up with something really special here, and I enjoyed it enormously’ Peter McLean
‘Hooked from page one, We Are the Dead rattles along with the pace of a runaway bullet train. Original, engaging, flawed but very-human characters draw us into a world rent by war, a world of brutal occupation, tarnished honour and devastating magics. This is a powerful debut and Shackle is an author to watch’ Gavin Smith, author of The Bastard Legion
‘A masterpiece of a story about hope, resistance and fellowship’ The Book Bag
By the Pricking of Her Thumb, Adam Roberts
One of the four richest people in the world may be dead. But which one? A Kubrickian thriller from one of the world’s leading authors of SF.
Private Investigator Alma is caught up in another impossible murder. One of the world’s four richest people may be dead – but nobody is sure which one. Hired to discover the truth behind the increasingly bizarre behaviour of the ultra-rich, Alma must juggle treating her terminally ill lover with a case which may not have a victim.
Inspired by the films of Kubrick, this stand-alone novel returns to the near-future of THE REAL-TOWN MURDERS and puts Alma on a path to a world she can barely understand. Witty, moving and with a mystery deep at its heart, this novel again shows Adam Roberts’ mastery of the form.
Praise for Adam Roberts:
‘Adam Roberts is very good at spinning weird crime tales… this is one to watch out for.’ Starburst
‘A witty, bittersweet and near-perfectly executed novel that’s possibly Robert’s best book to date.’ SFX
‘Written in a witty, playful and almost teasing style, this is an impressive novel of ideas and a moving love story as well as a tense mystery thriller.’ Morning Star
By the Pricking of Her Thumb is available to buy now in Paperback and eBook. Get your copy here!
Death and Friends, A Discworld Journal, The Discworld Emporium
The very first Discworld Journal, seen through the eyes (err . . . eye-sockets) of Terry Pratchett’s most enigmatic creation: Death.
There’s nothing like a journal to get you thinking about life, the universe, and a Disc suspended by four elephants standing atop a giant turtle. Who better to help you than Death, Sir Terry Pratchett’s most enduring anthropomorphic personification? He’s seen it all.
With space aplenty to plan your daily routines, express your wildest dreams, or write your life story, you’ll be aided and abetted by Death’s wit, wisdom and observations along the way. Fill the pages how you like, there’s no wrong way to live a life. Or complete a journal.
So come along, brief mortal, and make the most of Death’s OUTSIDE PERSPECTIVE.
Death and Friends, A Discworld Journal is available to buy now in Hardback. Get your copy here!
Master of Sorrows, Justin Call 
The stunning coming-of-age adventure of fantasy’s most compelling anti-hero . . .
You have heard the story before – of a young boy, orphaned through tragic circumstances, raised by a wise old man, who comes to a fuller knowledge of his magic and uses it to fight the great evil that threatens his world.
But what if the boy hero and the malevolent, threatening taint were one and the same?
What if the boy slowly came to realize he was the reincarnation of an evil god? Would he save the world . . . or destroy it?
Among the Academy’s warrior-thieves, Annev de Breth is an outlier. Unlike his classmates who were stolen as infants from the capital city, Annev was born in the small village of Chaenbalu, was believed to be executed, and then unknowingly raised by his parents’ killers.
Seventeen years later, Annev struggles with the burdens of a forbidden magic, a forgotten heritage, and a secret deformity. When he is subsequently caught between the warring ideologies of his priestly mentor and the Academy’s masters, he must choose between forfeiting his promising future at the Academy or betraying his closest friends. Each decision leads to a deeper dilemma, until Annev finds himself pressed into a quest he does not wish to fulfil.
Will he finally embrace the doctrine of his tutors, murder a stranger, and abandon his mentor? Or will he accept the more difficult truth of who he is . . . and the darker truth of what he may become . . .
Praise for Justin Call:
‘A remarkable debut which I simply cannot put down’ NOVEL NOTIONS
‘A wonderful mix of the old and the new, and the ending had me begging for just one more chapter. If you’re a fan of coming-of-age stories, magic schools, and the idea of what’s right and what’s wrong, then Master of Sorrows is the book for you’ THE FANTASY INN
Sanctuary, V. V. James
Big Little Lies meets The Craft, Sanctuary is a biting thriller about four women with a dark secret who find themselves at the centre of a gripping murder investigation.
Sanctuary. It’s the perfect town . . . to hide a secret.
To Detective Maggie Knight, the death of Sanctuary’s star quarterback seems to be a tragic accident. Only, everyone knows his ex-girlfriend is the daughter of a witch – and she was there when he died.
Then the rumours start.
Bereaved mother Abigail will stop at nothing until she has justice for her dead son. Her best friend Sarah will do everything in her power to protect her accused daughter. And both women share a secret that could shatter their lives.
It falls to Maggie to prevent her investigation – and Sanctuary itself – from spiralling out of control.
A gripping thriller for fans of Big Little Lies, A Discovery of Witches and The Familars.
Praise for V. V. James:
‘What would you get if you crossed Big Little Lies with 90s teen flick The Craft and threw in a splash of Peyton Place and a dash of The Crucible? The answer is something like this addictive novel’ Independent
‘Sanctuary is BIG LITTLE LIES meets THE CRAFT and I can not put it down’ Sarah Hughs Guardian