The Waking Fire

The Waking Fire – Book One of the Draconis Memoria

(Orbit UK cover)

“The Waking Fire is a marvelous piece of imagination with plenty of twists, a refreshingly different setting, and excellent world-building. A great read.” – Mark Lawrence, author of The Broken Empire trilogy. Read Mark’s full review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1552943300

“Ryan handily juggles draconic fantasy, espionage, and steampunk naval fiction with realism and effortless skill.” – Publishers Weekly, read the full review here: http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-101-98785-8

“Ryan has weaved a bright and magical world for you to explore along with the wonderfully woven prose as a guide, through what is sure to be another fantasy classic.” – Robert Bradley, Huffington Post, read the full review here: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/robert-bradley/book-review-the-waking-fi_b_10506680.html

“Fans of Indiana Jones and Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn series will not be able to get enough – and this book will leave readers eagerly awaiting the sequel.” – Lynn Dee Wathen, starred review in The Booklist.

The New York Times bestselling Raven’s Shadow Trilogy was a perfect read for “fans of broadscale epic fantasy along the lines of Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series and George R. R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire novels.”* Now, Anthony Ryan begins a new saga, The Draconis Memoria…

Throughout the vast lands controlled by the Ironship Syndicate, nothing is more prized than the blood of drakes. Harvested from the veins of captive or hunted Reds, Green, Blues and Blacks, it can be distilled into elixirs that give fearsome powers to the rare men and women who have the ability harness them—known as the blood-blessed.

But not many know the truth: that the lines of drakes are weakening. If they fail, war with the neighboring Corvantine Empire will follow swiftly. The Syndicate’s last hope resides in whispers of the existence of another breed of drake, far more powerful than the rest, and the few who have been chosen by fate to seek it.

Claydon Torcreek is a petty thief and an unregistered blood-blessed, who finds himself pressed into service by the protectorate and sent to wild, uncharted territories in search of a creature he believes is little more than legend. Lizanne Lethridge is a formidable spy and assassin, facing gravest danger on an espionage mission deep into the heart of enemy territory. And Corrick Hilemore is the second lieutenant of an ironship, whose pursuit of ruthless brigands leads him to a far greater threat at the edge of the world.

As lives and empires clash and intertwine, as the unknown and the known collide, all three must fight to turn the tide of a coming war, or drown in its wake.

*Library Journal

Read a sample chapter here.

Looking for an introduction to the world of The Draconis Memoria? Download Sandrunners – A Draconis Memoria Short Story for free when you join my mailing list.

Listen to The Draconis Symphonia, epic music inspired by The Draconis Memoria composed by Will Musser, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBVd3iBn63o&t=2s

Listen to an audiobook sample here: https://soundcloud.com/hachetteaudiouk/the-waking-fire-by-anthony-ryan-audiobook-extract

(Ace US Cover)