I’m delighted to reveal the cover for Upon the Forge of Battle, the third and final volume in the Age of Wrath trilogy.
Many thanks to the design team at Orbit for making this happen. Upon the Forge of Battle will be released in the UK and US on August 25th 2026. No book description yet, but you can pre-order here:
For those unfamiliar with this series, check out The Waking Fire book page for details and where to buy in other formats.
And finally, I’ll be posting the entry form for the annual Xmakkuhfestivus signed book giveaway to my mailing list on December 15th. If you’re not already subscribed, go here to sign up. Prize details to come but expect some special edition hardcovers.
Attention all dragoneers, dragon-riders, draco-philes (etc. people who like dragons is what I’m saying) – The Waking Fire, Book One of the Draconis Memoria trilogy, is currently on sale in ebook for $1.99 (sorry, US only).
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.
Also, The Martyr – Book Two of the Covenant of Steel – is now available for pre-order – find where-to-buy links on the book page.
In other The Martyr news, UK signed book store The Broken Binding is offering a limited number of signed hardcover pre-orders. These appear to be selling fast so act now to make sure you don’t miss out. They also ship internationally so don’t be put off if you live outside the UK.
Please share the link with any friends (or enemies) you think might be interested. The Kickstarter will run until March 30th and features some great stretch goals.
NB – this project is being run by Hirukoa Editorial. If you have any questions regarding the Kickstarter please address them to Hirukoa via the campaign page.
For anyone new to the Draconis Memoria, check out the first book in the series – The Waking Fire – details on thebook page.
I’m delighted to report that City of Songs – Volume Three in my Seven Swords novella series – has received a starred review from Publisher’s Weekly.
‘Ryan ingeniously combines magic and mystery in his outstanding third Seven Swords fantasy.’
Read the full review here (some mild spoiler warnings for those who prefer to come to it completely cold).
City of Songs will be released in special edition signed hardcover and ebook from Subterranean Press in September. Hopefully, the audiobook edition will appear shortly after. To answer an oft-asked question, there won’t be a pre-order page for the ebook, however, I’ll be sure to announce the release and provide the relevant where-to-buy links when they become available.
Heartfelt gratitude to everyone who supported the Kickstarter for Grimdark Magazine’s anthology The King Must Fall. Thanks (I like to think) to you, the anthology – which includes an all new Raven’s Shadow novella – has now reached its funding goal. A number of really great stretch goals remain with 8 days left to run. So, if you haven’t already become a supporter, please consider doing so now.
Thanks to those nice people at Orbit for providing this nifty video to remind everyone that my next full-length novel, The Pariah – Book One of the Covenant of Steel – will be released in two months time.
Grimdark Magazine (purely coincidentally) were kind enough to review the book last week and seemed to like it a lot:
‘The Pariah is Anthony Ryan at his best. A fast-paced, brutal fantasy novel with larger than life characters and a plot full of intrigue and suspense. With bloody twists and turns aplenty, this novel is destined to become a favourite of the grimdark community.’
Draconis Memoria RPG update – work continues on this project despite some dreadful pandemic related issues for the publisher. I still don’t have a start date for the Kickstarter but you can now register your interest here to make sure you don’t miss it: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hirukoa/draconis-memoria-rpg
And finally, it will be Blood Song’s tenth birthday on July 31st, which marks the day when I first self-published the book on Smashwords (whereupon it sold a massive five copies before I put it on the Kindle store in January 2012, but that’s a different story). Watch out for a book birthday related giveaway towards the end of the month. Please note – you’ll need to be signed up to my mailing list to have a chance of winning.
Many thanks to those nice people at Booknest for nominating ‘The Black Song’ – Book Two of The Raven’s Blade – for their ‘Best Traditionally Published Novel’ award longlist. Head over to the awards page to vote for your favourite fantasy novel from 2020: http://booknest.eu/component/k2/blog/2183-2020-booknest-fantasy-awards-longlist
The audiobook edition of ‘Slab City Blues – The Collected Stories’, narrated by the inestimable Steven Brand, is no longer exclusive to Audible and can be purchased from these retailers:
‘Een Pelgrimstocht van Zwaarden’ – the Dutch edition of my novella ‘A Pilgrimage of Swords’ – Vol. 1 of The Seven Swords – will be released on March 30th. Netherlands fantasy outlet AnderWereld are offering a box of goodies which includes a hardcover copy of the novella and a 210mm x 210mm glossy postcard of the Execration map signed by yours truly. Go here to order: https://www.anderwereld-magie.nl/a-63512008/nieuwe-mystery-boekenboxen/mystery-boekenbox-maart-fantasy-novelle/
And finally, I’m please to share a few more sample pages from the Draconis Memoria RPG rulebook courtesy of Hiruoka. Watch this space for news of the upcoming kickstarter.
I’m pleased to report that the signed, limited edition hardcover of Songs of the Dark, the collection of my Raven’s Shadow short fiction, is now in stock and shipping from Subterranean Press. The collection includes a new introduction, author notes on each of the stories and black-and-white interior illustrations by yours truly.
It’s a strange feeling when a whisper becomes a shout.”
Songs of the Dark collects all four novellas from the world of Anthony Ryan’s internationally best-selling Raven’s Shadow trilogy.
Centuries before the rise of the Unified Realm, the final battle looms between the city-state of Kethia and the Volarian Empire. As told by Imperial Chronicler Lord Verniers, this terrible event is shrouded in many secrets and, some say, wrought by servants of the Dark.
When word reaches the north of a fresh outbreak of the dreaded Red Hand, Brother Sollis, the finest swordsman in the Sixth Order, leads a small band to a long-abandoned castle in search of a potential cure but discovers a far greater threat lurking in the mountains.
A quest for bloody vengeance forces Derla, a skilled and deadly veteran of the Varinshold underworld, into the service of the arch schemer King Janus.
Veteran Realm Guard Jerhid, newly appointed Lord Collector of the King’s Excise, finds himself battling ruthless smuggler gangs and worse on the wild southern shore of the Unified Realm.
Four compelling tales of mystery, magic, intrigue, and battle presented in one volume for the first time—featuring all-new introductions and black-and-white interior illustrations by the author.
Limited: 400 signed numbered hardcover copies: $125
Lettered: 26 signed specially bound copies, housed in a custom traycase: $600
In other news, I’m excited to let you know that work on the Draconis Memoria RPG continues a pace and I’m now able to share a sneak peak of pages from the rule book.
The game will be produced by Hirukoa based on Dungeon & Dragons 5th Edition and funded via Kickstarter. More details to come when I have them.
Das Imperium aus Asche – Draconis Memoria Buch 3 – published today by Hobbit Presse with this rather spectacular cover.
Many thanks to my translators Sara Riffel and Birgit Maria Pfaffinger and my German editor Stephan Askani for all their hard work in making this happen.
Click here to buy the book in hardcover, ebook or audiobook.
‘Sandrunners – A Draconis Memoria Short Story’ is now available to download for free as a thank you to anyone who signs up to my mailing list.
Any readers of The Waking Fire curious as to what exactly happened during the oft-referred to Wittler Expedition, or anyone in search of an introduction to the Draconis Memoria world, should check it out. In this prequel story, newly graduated Blood-blessed Ethelynne Drystone accompanies the Sandrunners Independent Contractor Company on a dangerous mission to the Arradsian Interior, intent on finding the lair of the legendary White Drake.
In other news, the Chinese edition of Queen of Fire(Raven’s Shadow book 3) has a wonderful new cover.
The art is by Beijing based art duo Xiling who also produced the illustrations for the new Chinese editions of Blood Song and Tower Lord. You can view more of their work on their Artstation page.
For more art inspired by my work check out the cover gallery.
…’L’Empire descendres’ – released today with yet another great cover by Didier Graffet. Thanks to everyone at my French publisher Bragelonne for making it happen.
