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.
The Empire of Ashes (Book 3 of The Draconis Memoria) is released in paperback in the US and Canada tomorrow. To celebrate I’m giving away a signed, hand-drawn map of Arradsia to mailing list subscribers. Go hereto sign up before 1 PM GMT tomorrow for a chance to win. I’ll also be giving away five signed, lined and dated paperbacks. The giveaway will be open to all mailing members worldwide. Winners will be chosen and notified on 22nd May.
I’m pleased to announce that my fantasy novella A Pilgrimage of Swords will be published by Subterranean Press in September 2019.
Description:
ENTER THE EXECRATION,
WHERE THE DAMNED AND THE DESPERATE
COME TO PRAY TO THE MAD GOD…
It is two hundred years since the deity known as the Absolved went mad and destroyed the Kingdom of Alnachim, transforming it into the Execration, a blasted wasteland filled with nameless terrors. For decades, desperate souls have made pilgrimage to the centre of this cursed land to seek the Mad God’s favour, their fate always unknown.
Now a veteran warrior known only as Pilgrim, armed with a fabled blade inhabited by the soul of a taunting demon, must join with six others to make the last journey to the heart of the Execration. Allied with a youthful priest, a beast-charmer, a duplicitous scholar, an effete actor and two exiled lovers, Pilgrim must survive madness, malevolent spirits, unnatural monsters and the ever-present risk of treachery, all so that the Mad God might hear his prayer and, perhaps, grant redemption. But can sins such as his ever be forgiven?
Set in a world where demons and gods walk the earth, A Pilgrimage of Swords is a dark and exciting fantasy adventure from the New York Times bestselling author of the Raven’s Shadow and Draconis Memoria trilogies.
Thanks to my editor Yanni Kuznia and everyone at Subterranean for the efforts in bringing this to fruition. Thanks also to the always excellent Didier Graffet for his spectacular cover illustration. You can view more of Didier’s work here:https://www.alanlynchartists.com/didier-graffet
Check out the announcement on the Subterranean Press website to pre-order one of only 26 signed and lettered leatherbound copies, housed in a custom traycase, or one of 1000 signed and numbered hardcovers. The novella will also be released in ebook. No news yet on an audio version but watch this space for any news on that front.
Also, thanks to the mailing list subscribers who entered the Empire of Ashes signed UK paperback giveaway. The winners have now been chosen and notified, check your spam folder to make sure you haven’t missed out on a prize. Join my mailing list to ensure you don’t miss out on future giveaways.
