The time for heroes has come, but all the Riven Kingdom has is bastards.

A new standalone novella set after the traumatic events of STRANGER OF TEMPEST. Lynx and the rest of the mercenary group he has reluctantly tied himself to find themselves with a little time to kill. Luckily, the city they've ended up in is holding a festival. And nothing spells fun more than a group of bored mercs and a lot of booze.But Lynx has his own plans. A quiet evening with Toil, a woman he hasn't quite worked out yet. Nothing difficult or serious. No fights. No trouble.So it's a shame there's a dead body on her floor. And Toil is missing. And the police are on the way up the stairs...Bridging the gap between novels, but entirely stand-alone, this novella throws Lynx and his companions into a plot which threatens them all. **

Under threat of siege and horrors rising from the labyrinth, even the Mercenary Deck may have to accept that Jarrazir’s prohibition laws aren’t their biggest problem.

Lynx is a mercenary with a sense of honour; a dying breed in the Riven Kingdom. Failed by the nation he served and weary of the skirmishes that plague the continent’s principalities, he walks the land in search of purpose. He wants for little so bodyguard work keeps his belly full and his mage-gun loaded. It might never bring a man fame or wealth, but he’s not forced to rely on others or kill without cause.

In a land ruled by prophecy and the whims of Gods, a young man finds himself at the heart of a war he barely understands, wielding powers he may never be able to control. Isak is a white-eye, born bigger, more charismatic and more powerful than normal men... but with that power comes an unpredictable temper and an inner rage. Feared and despised by those around him, he dreams of a place in the army and a change to live his own life, but the Gods have other plans for the intemperate teenager. Isak has been Chosen as heir-elect to the brooding Lord Bahl, the white-eye Lord of the Farlan. This is a time for revenge, and for the forging of empires. With mounting envy and malice, the men who would themselves be kings watch Isak as he is shaped and moulded to fulfil the prophecies that circle him like scavenger birds. The Gods are once again beginning to meddle in the affairs of men. Over five books we follow Isak's life and the fallout from the choices he has been forced to make - choices that may well lead to his death.

In a quiet corner of the Imperial City, Investigator Narin discovers the result of his first potentially lethal mistake. Minutes later he makes a second. After an unremarkable career Narin finally has the chance of promotion to the hallowed ranks of the Lawbringers - guardians of the Emperor's laws and bastions for justice in a world of brutal expediency. Joining that honoured body would be the culmination of a lifelong dream, but it couldn't possibly have come at a worse time. A chance encounter drags Narin into a plot of gods and monsters, spies and assassins, accompanied by a grief-stricken young woman, an old man haunted by the ghosts of his past and an assassin with no past. On the cusp of an industrial age that threatens the warrior caste's rule, the Empire of a Hundred Houses awaits civil war between noble factions. Centuries of conquest has made the empire a brittle and bloated monster; constrained by tradition and crying out for change. To save his own life and those of untold thousands Narin must understand the key to it all - Moon's Artifice, the poison that could destroy an empire.ReviewThis is a hugely assured modern fantasy novel. -- Jonathan Wright SFX Magazine 20140101 About the AuthorTom Lloyd was born in 1979 in Berkshire. After a degree in International Relations he went straight into publishing where he still works. He never received the memo about suitable jobs for writers and consequently has never been a kitchen-hand, hospital porter, pigeon hunter, or secret agent. He lives in Oxford, isn't one of those authors who gives a damn about the history of the font used in his books and only believes in forms of exercise that allow him to hit something. Visit him online at www.tomlloyd.co.uk.