Author:Mike Brooks,Paul Panting

Brought to you by Penguin.
War Dragons. Fearsome Raiders. A Daemonic Warlord on the Rise.
When the citizens of Black Keep see ships on the horizon, terror takes them because they know who is coming: for generations, the keep has been raided by the fearsome clanspeople of Tjakorsha. Saddling their war dragons, Black Keep's warriors rush to defend their home only to discover that the clanspeople have not come to pillage at all. Driven from their own land by a daemonic despot who prophesises the end of the world, the raiders come in search of a new home . . .
Meanwhile the wider continent of Narida is lurching toward war. Black Keep is about to be caught in the crossfire - if only its new mismatched society can survive.
The start of an unmissable fantasy series.
© 2021 Mike Brooks (P) Penguin Audio and Rebellion Publishing 2021
Full of new energy and a sense of new directions... The plot has a driving ferocity, the huge and extraordinary cast marshaled with exceptional dexterity
—— SpectatorIn this concluding installment [of her quartet of novels], Byatt blends her own excitement at 'intellectual curiosity of any kind' with a lucid narrative and gripping plot... I suspect her fans will be hoping for a fifth
—— IndependentAn intellectual adventure full of energy and vitality [with] solid delights, keen and demanding pleasure
—— ScotsmanRich in metaphor and glancing allusion... Predominantly a novel of ideas. It makes a fine conclusion to the quartet
—— The EconomistBrilliant and densely written...it's an absorbing read
—— Daily MailA vast, intricate and highly readable tale of intellectual curiosity spanning the tensions between ideas and religion, science and television, anarchy and the intellectual establishment, the counterculture and academia, visionaries and madness The hothouse atmosphere of experimentation and the quest for new ways of seeing and being is tackled with questioning perception.
—— Stephanie Merritt , The ObserverThis is the best kind of novel of ideas, as entertaining as it is chewy, not to mention immensely pleasurable on the sentence level
—— Stephanie Cross , Daily MailSt Aubyn has lost none of his ability to create rounded characters...and the witty dialogue is well up to the standard of the Melrose books
—— Jake Kerridge , Daily TelegraphWhere Patrick Melrose's trauma was childhood abuse and neglect, for Francis it's abuse and neglect of the planet, for which a new interconnectedness with nature is the only cure... It's bold of St Aubyn to write a novel that's so much about science and about so much science... ideas matter and so does the novel of ideas.
—— Blake Morrison, Book of the Week , GuardianBoth moving and so funny I had to stop every few pages to wipe tears from my eyes
—— Ruth Ozeki , Observer, *Books of the Year*As an addict of Edward St Aubyn's crystalline prose, I devoured Double Blind, a typically audacious blend of big themes
—— Suzi Feay , Tablet, *Books of the Year*His most deeply moving novel.
—— The Boston GlobeMesmerizing. . . . This is a harrowing, a disturbing, a hauntingly brilliant tale.
—— The Baltimore SunA fine, almost delicate book about what is unfathomable about us.
—— The Philadelphia InquirerPortrayed in a fluid language that veers from the vernacular . . . to the surprisingly poetic.
—— San Francisco Examiner & ChronicleMurakami has once again produced a perfect gem
—— Good Book GuideMurakami weaved his mesmeric story-telling power once again with this new book…but still bearing the unmistakable purity of prose, economy of expression and simplicity of style that characterise his writing
—— BayA mysterious story about friendship, heartbreak and confronting the past, this book is surreal, existential and, therefore, classic Murakami
—— Dan Lewis , Travel GuideThe tale is as absorbing as the prose is beautiful
—— Good Book GuideThis is classic Murakami, an isolated character struggling to make his way through a world both deceptively simple and utterly fantastical, his story told through prose infused with all the beauty and meaning of a Kyoto tea ceremony
—— Freya McClements , Irish TimesHis versatility and ability to craft a story is spellbinding… Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage is a fine story that held my attention until the end.
—— Yomi Segun Steven , NudgeLoneliness, sexual ambiguity and emotional repression- the perfect recipe for a novel that put Murakami back on my list of unputdownable authors
—— John Kampfner , ObserverKafkaesque, unusual and packed with sex and confusion, this is high-end prose… Murakami is remarkably prolific… A weird and very wonderful descent into the madness of contemporary Tokyo.
—— Paul Critcher , GeographicalNolan's narrator rips and picks at the threads and scabs of desire, hedonism and self-worth... in this searing first novel, Nolan is holding up a fantastically intense mirror to her protagonist and letting us make up our own mind about whether or not we will look away.
—— Tara Joshi , QuietusThere are flashes of brilliance throughout, reminiscent of John Berger.
—— Stephanie Sy-Quia , Times Literary SupplementActs of Desperation creates an immersive experience of toxic romance through a suffocating and addictive narrative.
—— New StatesmanPainful, sharp and absorbing.
—— Susie Mesure , iA reflection on compulsion, addiction and what it's like to exist as a young woman in a world that is hostile to you. Read the first page and you won't be able to stop.
—— Irish TimesNolan...stakes out thrilling new territory in an intense, unflinching novel that is always intelligent and utterly unafraid of ugliness.
—— Claire Lowdon , Spectator, *Books of the Year*A devastating stripping back of the gendered and politicised conditions that shape desire, a revelation of the unnerving ways we are made vulnerable to others in unequal systems. Its crisp, knowing prose is unparalleled, its anger remarkable.
—— Anahit Behrooz , Skinny, *Books of the Year*Nolan's intelligent, elegant first novel, a gripping portrait of love turned toxic.
—— Daily TelegraphThe star feature of Nolan's narration is her ability to cut through received ideas about women, relationships and even rape. Her headlong, fearless prose, feels like salt wind on cracked lips. You wince and you thrill.
—— Claire Lowdon , Sunday TimesA raw read of vulnerability, desperation, and most definitely a new voice in fiction
—— Chloe Brown , CosmopolitanA thrilling read...if you want a visceral, honest, unputdownable summer read then this is it. You'll devour it in a day.
—— Stylist, *Summer Reads of 2022*A very elegant novel, with coercive control at the core. She has such a strong voice and not a sentence is extraneous
—— Emma Frost, author of BUSY BEING FREE , iI read this in one go... I found it raw, honest, brutal and real.
—— Lykke Li , ObserverWritten with acerbic style and wit, this is an intoxicatingly good look at romantic obsession, delusion and desire.
—— iBeautifully written…and the short chapters keep things moving at an addictively fast pace. Most importantly, it’s shamelessly real
—— Crack