Chaos. Fury. Destruction. The Great Change is upon us . . .

War. Politics. Revolution. The Age of Madness has arrived . . .

Betrayed by his family and left for dead, Prince Yarvi, reluctant heir to a divided kingdom, has vowed to reclaim a throne he never wanted.But first he must survive cruelty, chains and the bitter waters of the Shattered Sea itself - all with only one good hand. Born a weakling in the eyes of a hard, cold world, he cannot grip a shield or swing an axe, so has sharpened his mind to a deadly edge.Gathering a strange fellowship of the outcast, he finds they can help him more than any noble could....

WORDS ARE WEAPONSPrincess Skara has seen all she loved turned to ashes. She is left with only words. But the right words can be as deadly as any blade.ONLY HALF A WAR IS FOUGHT WITH SWORDSThe deep-cunning Father Yarvi has walked a long road from crippled slave to king's minister. But now he faces the greatest army since the elves made war on God.SOMETIMES ONE MUST FIGHT EVIL WITH EVILSome - like Thorn Bathu and the sword-bearer Raith - are born to fight, perhaps to die. Others - like Brand th...

War. Politics. Revolution. The Age of Madness has arrived . . .

Top notch noir fantasy - follow up to the superb THE BLADE ITSELF and BEFORE THEY ARE HANGED'You should always end with the best. Wow' SFX

Europe stares into the abyss.

Plague and famine stalk the land, monsters lurk in every shadow and greedy princes care for nothing but their own ambitions. Only one thing is certain: the elves will come again, and they will eat everyone.

Sometimes, only the darkest paths lead towards the light. Paths on which the righteous will not dare to tread . . .

And so, buried beneath the sacred splendour of the Celestial Palace, is the secret Chapel of the Holy Expediency. For...

Springtime in Styria. And that means war.There have been nineteen years of blood. The ruthless Grand Duke Orso is locked in a vicious struggle with the squabbling League of Eight, and between them they have bled the land white. While armies march, heads roll and cities burn, behind the scenes bankers, priests and older, darker powers play a deadly game to choose who will be king.War may be hell but for Monza Murcatto, the Snake of Talins, the most feared and famous mercenary in Duke Orso's em...

Thorn Bathu was born to fight. But when she kills a boy in the training square she finds herself named a murderer.Fate places her life in the hands of the deep-cunning Father Yarvi as he sets out to cross half the world in search of allies against the ruthless High King.Beside her is Brand, a young warrior who hates to kill. A failure in her eyes and his own, the voyage is his last chance at redemption.But warriors can be weapons, and weapons are made for one purpose. Will Thorn always be a t...

Second in the superb, bestselling First Law series - striking, character-driven and cynical noir fantasy from an absolute master.