Tag Archives: fantasy short story

The Scarlet Ziggurat – Free Seven Swords Short Story

As a thank you to their readers, Subterranean Press are giving away an ebook of my short story The Scarlet Ziggurat. This is a prequel story set in the same world as my Seven Swords novella series.

Description:

For centuries, the Scarlet Ziggurat, once the palace of a fabled Sorcerer Queen, has lain undisturbed beneath the dunes of the southern desert. Now Guyime, dispossessed king and wielder of the demon cursed Nameless Blade, has come to claim the ziggurat’s secrets. Guided by a mighty sorcerer, Guyime must defeat ancient and malign forces to claim his promised reward: release from the cursed sword on his back and the endless taunts of its demon inhabitant. But, in a world where magic equates to power, can any bargain be trusted?

The Scarlet Ziggurat is an exciting prequel adventure to the highly acclaimed Seven Swords series from New York Times bestselling author Anthony Ryan.

Once again, many thanks to Didier Graffet for the wonderful cover illustration.

To claim your free copy simply go to the Subterranean Press website and download it. You don’t ned to do anything else, but if anyone feels like expressing their gratitude by joining their mailing list or buying one of their books, I’m sure they’d be delighted.

For anyone new to the Seven Swords series, this story doesn’t contain any spoilers for the other books and can be read in isolation. If you’re a newcomer to this world, start with Book One A PILGRIMAGE OF SWORDS. 

Also, a reminder that the pre-order for Book Five of the series, Across the Sorrow Sea, is now live. Go here for details. 


‘The King Must Fall’ Kickstarter – Only 24 Hours Left…

The Kickstarter for The King Must Fall has met its funding goal but there are still plenty of stretch goals left, including stories from Deborah A. Wolf (Godsworld) and Matthew Ward (Legacy of Ash).

The King Must Fall is a dark fantasy anthology from Gimdark Magazine featuring 14+ authors writing about rogues, assassins, mages, blackguards, and warriors on quests to kill their kings, rulers, and leaders.

Wrapped in Felix Ortiz’s beautiful cover art, designed by the legendary Shawn King, and with a stretch goal to fill it with Carlos Diaz’s interior art, The King Must Fall will be a gripping read and an eye-catching addition to your bookshelf.

The anthology will feature an all new Raven’s Shadow novella by yours truly and great stories from the following authors:

 Bradley P. Beaulieu (The Song of the Shattered Sands, The Lays of Anuskaya)

 Kameron Hurley (The God’s War Trilogy, Worldbreaker Saga)

 Michael R Fletcher (Manifest Delusions, Black Stone Heart)

 Anna Smith Spark (Empires of Dust)

 Shawn Speakman (The Annwn Cycles, Unfettered)

 Daniel Polansky (Low Town, Those Above)

 Devin Madson (The Reborn Empire)

 Adrian Tchaikovsky (Shadows of the Apt, Children of Time)

 Lee Murray (Into the Mist, Hounds of the Underworld)

 Jeremy Szal (The Common)

 Justin Call (The Silent Gods)

 Trudi Canavan (The Black Magician, Age of the Five)

 Peter Orullian (The Vault of Heaven, The Astonishing)

Go to the Kickstarter Page to support this anthology.


‘A Duel of Evils: A Raven’s Shadow Short Story’ – Standalone Ebook Now Available

The standalone ebook version of my Raven’s Shadow short story A Duel of Evils is now available. Go here to buy:  Amazon.com  –  Amazon.co.uk  –  Kobo  –  Apple  –  Nook

‘Legendary warrior King Tavurek marshals his mercenary army to combat a mighty Volarian host led by a man known to history as the Spear-point. In the blood-bath that follows, there can be only one victor. The final battle between the city state of Kethia and the Volarian Empire, as told by Imperial Chronicler Lord Verniers, is an event shrouded in many secrets and, some say, wrought by servants of the Dark.’

Many thanks to Kevin Goeke for the spectacular cover art. You can view more of Kevin’s work here: https://movco-art.com/

The story was originally published in the Unfettered II anthology from Grim Oak Press.

 

In other news my US publisher is running a Goodreads giveaway for 10 copies of The Legion of Flame (Draconis Memoria book 2), go here to enter: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/235190-the-legion-of-flame

 

I’ll be doing a mailing list giveaway for some signed Legion of Flame hardcovers closer to the release date so sign up here to make sure you don’t miss out.

 


‘Sandrunners – A Draconis Memoria Short Story’ – Now Available.

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The stand-alone ebook edition of ‘Sandrunners – A Draconis Memoria Short Story’ is now available from the following retailers:   Amazon.com  –  Amazon.co.uk  –  Kobo  –  iBooks  –  Nook

Any readers of The Waking Fire curious as to what exactly happened during the oft-referred to Wittler Expedition should check it out. In this prequel story newly graduated Blood-blessed Ethelynne Drystone accompanies the Sandrunners Indepdent Contractor Company on a dangerous mission to the Arradsian Interior, intent on finding the lair of the legendary White Drake.

Thanks to Aaron Randall for the covert art and design (aaronrandallart.com).

The story is also still available as part of the Legends II Anthology in ebook and print.


Introducing the Anthony Ryan Mailing List – Sign Up and Get Two Free Stories

After much consideration I’ve finally decided to start my own mailing list. The list will be my way of letting you know when my books come out or go on sale as well as updating you about giveaways, some of which will be exclusive to list members. I will never spam you, give your information away to anyone, or contact you about anything that doesn’t directly relate to my work. You can also unsubscribe at any time.

As a thank you for signing up, everyone who joins can download free digital copies of my short stories Slab City Blues and The Hall of the Diamond Queen. Go here or click the images below to sign up and receive download links for your free stories.

 

The Hall of the Diamond Queen

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‘Wraith Queen Sharrow Met, servant of the Voice, discovers a terrible truth at the moment of greatest victory.’

Thanks to Aaron Randall for the cover art – see more of Aaron’s work here: http://www.aaronrandallart.com/

This story is also available in the Unbound Anthology from Grim Oak Press.

 

Slab City Blues – A Science Fiction Detective Story

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‘Welcome to the Slab. A vast orbiting slum where rats grow big and sweat falls in rain. There’s a stranger in town, a stranger with claws and a penchant for killing assassins. Finding him is the job of Inspector Alex McLeod, detective, disfigured war veteran and reluctant widower. Some days are worse than others on the Slab but today is going to be a gem.’