Bradley P. Beaulieu

Mala is a street thief with a knack for manipulating shadow. When the city's garrison is left empty after a terrible battle, the leader of Mala's gang decides to steal from it. Larger gangs might steer clear, fearing retribution from the Silver Spears, but Mala's crew is young and foolhardy, and the potential score is simply too big to pass up. After using her talents to steal into the garrison, Mala stumbles across Shohreh, an injured woman wearing a blood-red battle dress. Shohreh is a Kestrel, one of the elite swordswomen who serve the twelve kings of Sharakhai. Knowing Shohreh will be killed the moment the others learn of her, Mala helps her to escape through a secret door and into the city's catacombs. Near death, Shohreh is healed by the Crone, a near-mythical figure in Sharakhai and the leader of the Kestrels. After revealing a plot to kill Zeheb the Whisper King, the Crone commands Shohreh to save him and to kill Mala for having learned the location of their underground lair. What follows is a deadly game that threatens not only the Whisper King but Mala and everyone she knows.

The thrilling sequel to award-winning author Bradley P. Beaulieu's epic fantasy series, The Book of the Holt.

The thrilling sequel to award-winning author Bradley P. Beaulieu's epic fantasy series, The Book of the Holt. In the wake of the great battle at Ancris, Rylan and Lorelei must deal with the aftermath of the destroyed capital and the knowledge that Faedryn, the imprisoned trickster god who has been plotting his escape for centuries, is growing ever closer to freedom. While Lorelei hopes to stop Faedryn before it's too late, the trail she's following has grown cold and Rylan is too busy with his own problems to help. News has leaked about the powerful artifact he stole, the one Faedryn desperately needs, and now everyone in the empire, from the dragon legions to the ruthless Red Knives, are hunting him. But Rylan soon discovers there's something worse than being caught - losing the shard altogether. As Lorelei and Rylan struggle to undo the damage he caused, they learn that Faedryn gained his power by taking part in a deadly, twisted contest created by the elder gods and that it may resume even if they do manage to keep Faedryn imprisoned.

This 1st book in a new fantasy series from the author of the acclaimed Song of the Shattered Sands series follows an unlikely pair as they expose the secrets at the heart of the mountain city of Ancris Lorelei Aurelius is the smartest inquisitor in the mountain city of Ancris. When a mysterious tip leads her to a clandestine meeting between the Church and the hated Red Knives, she uncovers a plot that threatens not only her home but the empire itself. The trail leads her to Rylan Holbrooke, a notorious thief posing as a dragon singer. Rylan came to Ancris to solve the very same mystery she stumbled onto. Knowing his incarceration could lead to the Red Knives' achieving their goals, Lorelei makes a fateful decision: she frees him. Now branded as traitors, the two flee the city on dragonback. In the massive forest known as the Holt, they discover something terrible. The Red Knives are planning to awaken a powerful demigod in the holiest shrine in Ancris, and for some reason the Church is willing to allow it. It forces their return to Ancris, where the unlikely allies must rally the very people who've vowed to capture them before it's too late. Explore the mountain city of Ancris, where fast-paced adventure and intrigue abound, in this new offering from the author of the acclaimed Song of the Shattered Sands series.

Lorelei Aurelius is the smartest inquisitor in the mountain city of Ancris. When a mysterious tip leads her to a clandestine meeting between the Church and the hated Red Knives, she uncovers a plot that threatens not only her home but the empire itself. The trail leads to incarcerated thief Rylan Holbrooke. Realising that he’s trying to solve the mystery she has just discovered, Lorelei makes the fateful decision to free him. Now branded as traitors, the two must flee on dragonback to the massive forest known as the Holt. And there they discover something terrible: the Red Knives are planning to awaken a powerful demi-god in the holiest shrine in Ancris. Together, Lorelei and Rylan must return to the city and warn the very people who’ve vowed to capture them... before it’s too late.

Lorelei Aurelius is the smartest inquisitor in the mountain city of Ancris. When a mysterious tip leads her to a clandestine meeting between the Church and the hated Red Knives, she uncovers a plot that threatens not only her home but the empire itself. The trail leads to Rylan Holbrooke, a notorious thief posing as a dragon singer. Lorelei soon discovers there’s more to Rylan than meets the eye. He came to Ancris to solve the very same mystery she stumbled onto. Knowing his incarceration could lead to the Red Knives’ achieving their goals, Lorelei makes a fateful decision: she frees him. Now branded as traitors, the two flee the city on dragonback. In the massive forest known as the Holt, they follow the trail of clues and discover something terrible. The Red Knives are planning to awaken a powerful demi-god in the holiest shrine in Ancris, and for some reason the Church is willing to allow it. It forces their return to Ancris, where the unlikely allies must rally the very people who’ve vowed to capture them before it’s too late.

This 1st book in a new fantasy series from the author of the acclaimed Song of the Shattered Sands series follows an unlikely pair as they expose the secrets at the heart of the mountain city of Ancris. Lorelei Aurelius is the smartest inquisitor in the mountain city of Ancris. When a mysterious tip leads her to a clandestine meeting between the Church and the hated Red Knives, she uncovers a plot that threatens not only her home but the empire itself. The trail leads her to Rylan Holbrooke, a notorious thief posing as a dragon singer. Rylan came to Ancris to solve the very same mystery she stumbled onto. Knowing his incarceration could lead to the Red Knives' achieving their goals, Lorelei makes a fateful decision: she frees him. Now branded as traitors, the two flee the city on dragonback. In the massive forest known as the Holt, they discover something terrible. The Red Knives are planning to awaken a powerful demigod in the holiest shrine in Ancris, and for some reason the Church is willing to allow it. It forces their return to Ancris, where the unlikely allies must rally the very people who've vowed to capture them before it's too late. Explore the mountain city of Ancris, where fast-paced adventure and intrigue abound. in this new offering from the author of the acclaimed Song of the Shattered Sands series.

When the mighty and cruel must be brought low, it's the killers and the schemers who emerge from the shadows. As plans twist and change, and our protagonists are foiled and beaten, one thing remains true: no matter the cost, the king must fall. The King Must Fall is a dark fantasy anthology featuring 19 titans of the dark and grimdark fantasy genres writing about rogues, assassins, mages, blackguards, and warriors on quests to kill their kings, rulers, captains, and leaders. Devin Madson Luke Scull Anna Smith Spark Anthony Ryan Michael R. Fletcher Jeremy Szal Lee Murray Daniel Polansky Shawn Speakman Adrian Tchaikovsky Trudi Canavan Alex Marshall Anna Stephens Justin Call Deborah A. Wolf Peter Orullian Kameron Hurley Matthew Ward Bradley P. Beaulieu

When the mighty and cruel must be brought low, it's the killers and the schemers who emerge from the shadows. As plans twist and change, and our protagonists are foiled and beaten, one thing remains true: no matter the cost, the king must fall. The King Must Fall is a dark fantasy anthology featuring 19 titans of the dark and grimdark fantasy genres writing about rogues, assassins, mages, blackguards, and warriors on quests to kill their kings, rulers, captains, and leaders. Devin Madson Luke Scull Anna Smith Spark Anthony Ryan Michael R. Fletcher Jeremy Szal Lee Murray Daniel Polansky Shawn Speakman Adrian Tchaikovsky Trudi Canavan Alex Marshall Anna Stephens Justin Call Deborah A. Wolf Peter Orullian Kameron Hurley Matthew Ward Bradley P. Beaulieu

Now in paperback, the final book in The Song of the Shattered Sands series closes the epic fantasy saga in a desert setting, filled with rich worldbuilding and pulse-pounding action. The plans of the desert gods are coming to fruition. Meryam, the deposed queen of Qaimir, hopes to raise the buried elder god, Ashael, an event that would bring ruin to the desert. eda and Emre sail for their ancestral home to bring the traitor, Hamid, to justice. To their horror, they discover that the desert tribes have united under Hamid's banner. Their plan? A holy crusade to annihilate Sharakhai, a thing long sought by many in the tribes. In Sharakhai, meanwhile, the blood mage, Davud, examines the strange gateway between worlds, hoping to find a way to close it. And King Ihsan hunts for Meryam, but always finds himself two steps behind. When Meryam raises Ashael, all know the end is near. Ashael means to journey to the land that was denied to him an age ago, no matter the cost to the desert. It now falls to eda and her unlikely assortment of allies to find a way to unite not only the desert tribes and the people of Sharakhai, but the city's invaders as well. Even if they do, stopping Ashael will cost them dearly, perhaps more than all are willing to pay.

The final book in The Song of the Shattered Sands series closes the epic fantasy saga in a desert setting, filled with rich worldbuilding and pulse-pounding action. The plans of the desert gods are coming to fruition. Meryam, the deposed queen of Qaimir, hopes to raise the buried elder god, Ashael, an event that would bring ruin to the desert. eda and Emre sail for their ancestral home to bring the traitor, Hamid, to justice. To their horror, they discover that the desert tribes have united under Hamid's banner. Their plan? A holy crusade to annihilate Sharakhai, a thing long sought by many in the tribes. In Sharakhai, meanwhile, the blood mage, Davud, examines the strange gateway between worlds, hoping to find a way to close it. And King Ihsan hunts for Meryam, but always finds himself two steps behind. When Meryam raises Ashael, all know the end is near. Ashael means to journey to the land that was denied to him an age ago, no matter the cost to the desert. It now falls to eda and her unlikely assortment of allies to find a way to unite not only the desert tribes and the people of Sharakhai, but the city's invaders as well. Even if they do, stopping Ashael will cost them dearly, perhaps more than all are willing to pay.

Now in trade paperback, the fifth book in The Song of the Shattered Sands series--an epic fantasy with a desert setting, filled with rich worldbuilding and pulse-pounding action. The reign of the kings of Sharakhai has been broken. The blood mage, Queen Meryam, now rules the city along with the descendants of the fabled twelve Kings. In the desert, eda has succeeded in breaking the asirim's curse. Those twisted creatures are now free, but their freedom comes at great cost. Nalamae, the goddess who aided eda, lies dead, slain in battle with her sister goddess. eda, knowing Nalamae would have been reborn on her death, sets out on a quest to find her. The trail leads eda to Sharakhai where, unbeknownst to her, others are searching for Nalamae as well. eda's quest to find her forces her into a terrible decision: work with the Kings or risk Sharakhai's destruction. Whatever her decision, it won't be easy. Sharakhai is once more threatened by the forces of the neighboring kingdoms. As the powers of the desert vie for control of the city, eda, her allies, and the fallen Kings must navigate the shifting fates before the city they love falls to the schemes of the desert gods.

The fourth book in The Song of Shattered Sands series--an epic fantasy with a desert setting, filled with rich worldbuilding and pulse-pounding action. When a battle to eradicate the Thirteenth Tribe goes awry, the kingdoms bordering the desert metropolis of Sharakhai see the city as weak and ripe for conquest. eda, now leader of the Shieldwives, a band of skilled desert swordswomen, hopes to use the growing chaos to gain freedom for Sehid-Alaz, the ancient, undying king of her people. Freeing him is only the beginning, however. Like all the people of her tribe on that fateful night four centuries earlier, Sehid-Alaz was cursed, turned into an asir, a twisted, miserable creature beholden to the kings of Sharakhai--to truly free her king, eda must break the chains that bind him. As Sharakhai's enemies close in and the assault on the city begins, eda works feverishly to unlock the mysteries of the asirim's curse. But danger lies everywhere. Enemy forces roam the city; the Blade Maidens close in on her; her own father, one of the kings of Sharakhai, wants eda to hang. Worst of all, the gods themselves have begun to take notice of eda's pursuits. When the combined might of Sharakhai and the desert gods corner the survivors of the Thirteenth Tribe in a mountain fastness, the very place that nearly saw their annihilation centuries ago, eda knows the time has come. She was once an elite warrior in service to the kings of Sharakhai. She has been an assassin in dark places. A weapon poised to strike from the shadows. A voice from the darkness, striving to free her people. No longer. Now she's going to lead. The age of the Kings is coming to an end . . .

The fifth book in The Song of the Shattered Sands series--an epic fantasy with a desert setting, filled with rich worldbuilding and pulse-pounding action. The reign of the kings of Sharakhai has been broken. The blood mage, Queen Meryam, now rules the city along with the descendants of the fabled twelve kings. In the desert, eda has succeeded in breaking the asirim's curse. Those twisted creatures are now free, but their freedom comes at great cost. Nalamae lies dead, slain in battle with her sister goddess. eda, knowing Nalamae would have been reborn on her death, sets out on a quest to find her. The trail leads eda to Sharakhai where, unbeknownst to her, others are searching for Nalamae as well. eda's quest to find her forces her into a terrible decision: work with the kings or risk Sharakhai's destruction. Whatever her decision, it won't be easy. Sharakhai is once more threatened by the forces of the neighboring kingdoms. As the powers of the desert vie for control of the city, eda, her allies, and the fallen kings must navigate the shifting fates before the city they love falls to the schemes of the desert gods.

Now in paperback, the fourth book in The Song of Shattered Sands series is an epic fantasy with a desert setting, filled with rich worldbuilding and pulse-pounding action. When a battle to eradicate the Thirteenth Tribe goes awry, the kingdoms bordering the desert metropolis of Sharakhai see the city as weak and ripe for conquest. eda, now leader of the Shieldwives, a band of skilled desert swordswomen, hopes to use the growing chaos to gain freedom for Sehid-Alaz, the ancient, undying king of her people. Freeing him is only the beginning, however. Like all the people of her tribe on that fateful night four centuries earlier, Sehid-Alaz was cursed, turned into an asir, a twisted, miserable creature beholden to the kings of Sharakhai--to truly free her king, eda must break the chains that bind him. As Sharakhai's enemies close in and the assault on the city begins, eda works feverishly to unlock the mysteries of the asirim's curse. But danger lies everywhere. Enemy forces roam the city; the Blade Maidens close in on her; her own father, one of the kings of Sharakhai, wants eda to hang. Worst of all, the gods themselves have begun to take notice of eda's pursuits. When the combined might of Sharakhai and the desert gods corner the survivors of the Thirteenth Tribe in a mountain fastness, the very place that nearly saw their annihilation centuries ago, eda knows the time has come. She was once an elite warrior in service to the kings of Sharakhai. She has been an assassin in dark places. A weapon poised to strike from the shadows. A voice from the darkness, striving to free her people. No longer. Now she's going to lead. The age of the Kings is coming to an end . . .

Best Book of 2015 by Amazon Barnes & Noble BuzzFeed - "Promises to be breathtaking." --Robin Hobb The Song of the Shattered Sands: Book One Sharakhai, the great city of the desert, center of commerce and culture, has been ruled from time immemorial by twelve kings -- cruel, ruthless, powerful, and immortal. With their army of Silver Spears, their elite company of Blade Maidens and their holy defenders, the terrifying asirim, the Kings uphold their positions as undisputed, invincible lords of the desert. There is no hope of freedom for any under their rule. Or so it seems, until eda, a brave young woman from the west end slums, defies the Kings' laws by going outside on the holy night of Beht Zha'ir. What she learns that night sets her on a path that winds through both the terrible truths of the Kings' mysterious history and the hidden riddles of her own heritage. Together, these secrets could finally break the iron grip of the Kings' power...if the nigh-omnipotent Kings don't find her first.

After leaving the grasslands of her homeland, Djaga Akoyo rose to prominence in Sharakhai's fighting pits as the famed Lion of Kundhun. She built a life of respect, a life easing toward retirement. What she revealed told no one, however, is the terrible secret that drove her from her homeland in the first place. That all changes when Afua, Djaga's sister tribeswoman, comes to Sharakhai and threatens to reveal Djaga's shameful past. Djaga and Afua are linked, to one another and the two-faced god of their homeland: war and peace. Djaga has searched for peace, to no avail. Afua tells her that by embracing war with one final bout in the killing pits, both their demons will be excised. But Djaga has more to worry about than Afua's demons, or even her own. There is Nad n, a woman Djaga hopes to share a life with once she's left the pits for good. But how can she start a new life with Nad n when the horrific acts she committed still haunt her? Djaga must now decide whether to face her demons once and for all, knowing that if she does, she may lose the woman she loves forever.