Praised by Joe Abercrombie and Brent Weeks alike - the dragon fantasy that heralded the arrival of an exciting new talent on the fantasy scene

The Adamantine Palace lies at the centre of an empire that grew out of ashes. Once dragons ruled the world and man was little more than prey. Then a way of subduing the dragons through alchemy was discovered and now the dragons are bred to be mere mounts for knights and highly valued tokens in the diplomatic power-players that underpin the rule of the competing aristocratic houses. The Empire has grown fat.

And now one man wants it for himself. A man prepared to poison the king just as he has poisoned his own father. A man prepared to murder his own lover and then bed her daughter. A man fit to be king?

But unknown to him there are flames on the way. A single dragon has gone missing. And even one dragon on the loose, unsubdued and returned to its full intelligence, its full fury, could spell disaster for the Empire.

But because of the actions of one unscrupulous mercenary the rivals for the throne could soon be facing hundreds of dragons ...

Stephen Deas has written a fast moving and action-fuelled fantasy laced with irony, a razor sharp way with characters, dialogue to die for and dragons to die by.

Praised by Joe Abercrombie and Brent Weeks alike - the dragon fantasy that heralded the arrival of an exciting new talent on the fantasy scene.

About the Author
Stephen Deas was born in 1968. He once set fire to Wales. Well one bit of Wales. Twice. When not burning principalities, he played too much Dungeons and Dragons. Despite this he managed to study theoretical physics at Cambridge, get a job at BAE, marry and have two children. He now lives in Essex.


Book Information
ISBN 9780575083752
Author Stephen Deas
Format Paperback
Page Count 400
Imprint Gollancz
Publisher Orion Publishing Co
Weight(grams) 332g
Dimensions(mm) 196mm * 131mm * 26mm