When her cousin gets kidnapped by a dastardly trickster, Luzia is forced to sell herself in servitude to the Eoi in exchange for his life. But the terms of the deal turn out to be much more complicated than she ever imagined…
Luzia N.E. Drainway never really thought too much about the Astrosi. They lurk above and below Bastion City – a giant multileveled megalopolis she calls her home – and they tend to keep to themselves. On the rare occasions they use their magics to meddle with human affairs, most people with an ounce of sense steer clear of whichever unfortunate soul happens to be their victim. Luzia is far too dedicated to repairing and maintaining the frequently-damaged Bastion to pay them much attention, and prefers to ignore the Astrosi just like everyone else.
That disregard gets blown out of the water when a rogue Astrosi and nefarious trickster named Carrion kidnaps her nephew and sells him to the Eoi, one of the Astrosi courts.
With no other options to save her nephew, Luzia trades her life for his and finds herself in service to the Eoi. Unfortunately for her, Astrosi logic is acrobatic in ways even the most devious human mind can barely comprehend. It’s not until the deal is struck that she realizes she’s trapped in the most abstruse verbal contract imaginable. She is essentially conscripted into their ranks, and her devotion to her city becomes stretched to breaking point by her new masters’ orders.
As she struggles under this weight, she begins to uncover the secrets of the Astrosi people – the internal battles for power between the two kingdoms, the never-ending conflict between them, the trickster Carrion who somehow bridges that gap, and the very nature of the Bastion itself.
Release Date 2023-07-11 Formats: Ebook, Paperback EBook ISBN 11th July 2023 | 9781915202529 | epub & mobi | £4.99/$6.99/$7.99 Paperback ISBN 11th July 2023 | 9781915202192 | Paperback
Book I of The Nightingale and the Falcon
1260, Persia:
Due to the efforts of the great Genghis Khan, the Mongol Empire covers a vast portion of the known world. In the shadow of his grandfather, Hulagu Khan, ruler of the Ilkhanate, is determined to create a single empire that covers the entire world. His method? Violence.
His youngest son, Temujin Khan, struggles to find his place in his father’s bloody rule. After another failure, Temujin is given one last chance to prove himself to Hulagu, who is sure there is a great warrior buried deep inside. But there’s something else rippling under the surface… something far more powerful and dangerous than they could ever imagine…
Reduced to the position of one of Hulagu’s many wives, the famed Blue Princess Kokochin is the last of her tribe. Alone and forgotten in a foreign land, Kokochin is unwilling to spend her days seeking out trivial pursuits. Seeking purpose, she finds herself wandering down a path that grants her more power than a wife of the Khan may be allowed.
Kaivon, the Persian rebel who despises the Mongols for the massacre of his people, thirsts for revenge. However, he knows alone he cannot destroy the empire. When given the opportunity to train under the tutelage of Hulagu, Kaivon must put aside his feelings and risk his life for a chance to destroy the empire that aims to conquer the world.
Family and war collide in this thrilling and bloody reimagining of the Mongol Empire’s invasion of Persia.
Stephen Aryan is the author of The Coward and The Warrior (the Quest for Heroes Duology), as well as the Age of Darkness and Age of Dread trilogies. His first novel, Battlemage, was a finalist for the David Gemmell Morningstar Award for best debut fantasy novel. It also won the inaugural Hellfest Inferno Award in France. He has previously written a comic book column and reviews for Tor.com. In addition, he has self-published and kickstarted his own comics.
You can find out more about Stephen and his books on his website: Stephen-Aryan.com
Format: 508 pages, Paperback Published: July 12, 2022 by Angry Robot ISBN: 9780857669827
Inar is Master Builder for the Kingdom of Mishig-Tenh. Life is hard after the Kingdom lost the war against the League of Free Cities. Doubly so since his father betrayed the King and paid the ultimate price. And now the King’s terrifying chancellor and torturer in chief has arrived and instructed Inar to go and work for the League. And to spy for him. And any builder knows you don’t put yourself between a rock and a hard place.
Far away Anton, Blade Priest for Craithe, the God Mountain, is about to be caught up in a vicious internal war that will tear his religion apart. Chosen from infancy to conduct human sacrifice, he is secretly relieved that the practice has been abruptly stopped. But an ancient enemy has returned, an occult conspiracy is unfolding, and he will struggle to keep his hands clean in a world engulfed by bloodshed.
In a series of constantly surprising twists and turns that take the reader through a vividly imagined and original world full of familiar tensions and surprising perspectives on old tropes, Inar and Anton find that others in their story may have more influence on their lives, on the future of the League and on their whole world than they, or the reader imagined.
My Review
I picked up this book at FantasyCon last year, although more precisely the author gave me a copy after the final panel about the essentials an adventurer needs and I asked why no one ever took a map and compass? I think it’s being raised by a former Scout, and being a Guide myself from a young age, I just naturally just consider maps, compasses and spare change for a phone, as essentials for adventuring off the beaten track. These days of course, finding a pay phone is hard, so you should take your phone charger and a spare battery pack in your bag. If you can get a signal, you can get help!
Okay, so back to the book.
Our first main character is Inar, a master builder from the recently conquered kingdom of Mishig-Tenh. The League want him to help them find a way into the Hidden Kingdom. And they won’t take no for an answer. Since his father and brother were executed as traitors, and Inar will go the same way if he doesn’t spy for the remaining leaders of the kingdom, he agrees. He has to lead a team of explorers through the mountains to meet representatives from the Mountain God. Things go very wrong, and secrets are revealed that probably should have been kept hidden, including a girl, called Duna, who can bring down mountains.
Our second main character is Anton, one of the last Blade Priests, vertzan of the God Mountain, Craithe. At nineteen, Anton has only one friend in the monastery-fortress, his sister-priestess, Elecy. They have been trained from a young age to perform the human sacrifices required by the demi-gods on the Mountain, until the demi-gods (giant vultures, called Guardians) decided that they don’t want human sacrifice anymore. This has caused a rift in the faith, between the traditionalists and the progressives. Anton is chosen to be the successor to the altzan-al (high priest/pope?) until he’s set up for the murder of the altzan-al. Rescued by Elecy and a young scout, he sets out to find allies in the outside world, while Elecy stays behind to keep an eye on the new regime.
There’s a war and invasions, gods die. Things explode. Duna gets high and goes a little bit battle-mad. At the end, the world has changed for everyone involved, while Duna and Elecy meet up and head out into the world, probably causing mayhem in the future. I can’t wait to read the second book, which isn’t out for another year.
Mad elves, high on mushrooms, kidnap the main characters and their parties. It’s a unique idea – elves are humans who take a mushroom that makes them feel immortal, and not feel pain as their ears and face are cut. I
One of the people in the League party is a surveyor, and Inar is amazed by the idea of accurate surveys. I love the idea of introducing new ideas into a world and seeing how they play out with the different cultures. Inar doesn’t understand why they were traveling so slowly, although a reader would when the mentions of notes and poles, sighting on mountains, that sort of thing.
The League is obviously an empire in waiting, despite the rhetoric of freedom, logic and science. Some of the characters from the League have good intentions, but some are very obviously looking to build a legacy. The church of the God Mountain have, or had, an empire and are shrinking, while some factions are looking to accept the change of status, others want to rebuild it. They are mirrors of each other.
I enjoyed the twist at the end, as Anton realises the Guardian’s prophecy is not about him. He’s a bit slow on the uptake; an attentive reader would have picked that up fairly quickly.
The book is chunky at 508 pages, but the story flies along; the world is complex, the characters are fascinating, and the plot kept me engaged.
Everything Is Better With Dragons 