The Dragons of Asdanund is on sale!
I'm delighted to announce that my new novel, The Dragons of Asdanund, is now available from all your favourite ebook retailers, priced at just $3.99. As you probably know if you've been reading this blog regularly, it's the second volume of my fantasy series The Schemes of Raltarn & Tomaz, and is the sequel to 2014's The Mirrors of Elangir.
Here's the blurb:
After their adventures in Elangir, Raltarn and his comrades on Silver Dolphin begin the voyage home to Asdanund. Raltarn hopes that his share of the treasure will be enough for a dowry for his fiancée Shanu. The warship Glorious has gone ahead with a cargo of magical weapons that might help to win the long war against Nuhys. Disaster strikes Glorious, and the only survivor refuses to say what happened.
Halfway home, they discover they’re too late. The war is over, and Asdanund is now under Nuhysean rule. A retired Asdanundish admiral recruits Silver Dolphin to carry a raiding party to Asdanund. He asks Raltarn to join the party, as he’s the only magician they have. Raltarn agrees, hoping to be reunited with Shanu. But what hope does a man with no military experience have in a country that’s now overrun with dragons?
Here's the first (very short) chapter. Be warned it has some major spoilers for The Mirrors of Elangir.
A drizzly mist had descended by the time we got close enough to Glorious to hail her. To nobody’s surprise, the lookout’s shouts produced no response. The warship hadn’t moved since we spotted her an hour ago. She seemed to be listing. Had she struck a rock? I’d thought the sea was quite deep here.
“Raltarn!” My father, Rathkarn, called to me from the main deck, where he stood by my uncle, his brother Tomaz. I still hadn’t got used to his being alive after a decade of believing he’d been killed in a burglary gone wrong… and I still hadn’t quite forgiven Uncle for not telling me the truth about him. I descended from the forecastle, moving slowly so as not to slip on the wet planks.
Father gestured to Uncle and said, “Will you talk some sense into him?”
“I don’t understand,” I said.
“The Captain wants to send the boat over to the warship,” said Father.
“I don’t see how that’s any concern of ours,” I said. “Besides, if this mist settles, we’re stuck here until the wind gets up enough to clear it.”
“No good will come of this,” Father replied. “There’s nobody above deck. Half her sails are missing, and the rest are frittered. But she couldn’t have been caught in a storm, because she was only half a day ahead of us. And she’s not flying a distress flag, so whatever happened happened quickly.”
“If there’s something around here that’s a danger to a warship,” I said, “we ought to know about it.”
“No,” said Father, “we ought to get away from it.”
“If the Captain wants to investigate,” said Uncle, “we investigate.”
“You’re his employers,” said Father. “Tell him you’re in a hurry to get back to Asdanund.”
“We are,” I replied, “but the Captain of Glorious said we were obliged to help them under the Emergency Articles. He never rescinded that order, as far as I know.”
“He abandoned you!” Father exclaimed.
“We abandoned him, strictly speaking,” said Uncle. “And even without the Emergency Articles, what about the well-being of your fellow men?”
“I’ve never known you to show much concern for that,” Father muttered.
A splash from the other side of the ship told me our boat had been launched.
Father’s gaze shifted to the men climbing over the railing to descend to the boat. “Admit it—you’re hoping the Elangics who Buronoskol put on that ship went mad and killed everyone, so you can help yourself to the artefacts he gave them.”
Uncle snorted. “If that is what I want, what are you so worried about?”
Father’s gaze returned to Glorious. “That not all of them are dead.”
Here's the blurb:
After their adventures in Elangir, Raltarn and his comrades on Silver Dolphin begin the voyage home to Asdanund. Raltarn hopes that his share of the treasure will be enough for a dowry for his fiancée Shanu. The warship Glorious has gone ahead with a cargo of magical weapons that might help to win the long war against Nuhys. Disaster strikes Glorious, and the only survivor refuses to say what happened.
Halfway home, they discover they’re too late. The war is over, and Asdanund is now under Nuhysean rule. A retired Asdanundish admiral recruits Silver Dolphin to carry a raiding party to Asdanund. He asks Raltarn to join the party, as he’s the only magician they have. Raltarn agrees, hoping to be reunited with Shanu. But what hope does a man with no military experience have in a country that’s now overrun with dragons?
Here's the first (very short) chapter. Be warned it has some major spoilers for The Mirrors of Elangir.
A drizzly mist had descended by the time we got close enough to Glorious to hail her. To nobody’s surprise, the lookout’s shouts produced no response. The warship hadn’t moved since we spotted her an hour ago. She seemed to be listing. Had she struck a rock? I’d thought the sea was quite deep here.
“Raltarn!” My father, Rathkarn, called to me from the main deck, where he stood by my uncle, his brother Tomaz. I still hadn’t got used to his being alive after a decade of believing he’d been killed in a burglary gone wrong… and I still hadn’t quite forgiven Uncle for not telling me the truth about him. I descended from the forecastle, moving slowly so as not to slip on the wet planks.
Father gestured to Uncle and said, “Will you talk some sense into him?”
“I don’t understand,” I said.
“The Captain wants to send the boat over to the warship,” said Father.
“I don’t see how that’s any concern of ours,” I said. “Besides, if this mist settles, we’re stuck here until the wind gets up enough to clear it.”
“No good will come of this,” Father replied. “There’s nobody above deck. Half her sails are missing, and the rest are frittered. But she couldn’t have been caught in a storm, because she was only half a day ahead of us. And she’s not flying a distress flag, so whatever happened happened quickly.”
“If there’s something around here that’s a danger to a warship,” I said, “we ought to know about it.”
“No,” said Father, “we ought to get away from it.”
“If the Captain wants to investigate,” said Uncle, “we investigate.”
“You’re his employers,” said Father. “Tell him you’re in a hurry to get back to Asdanund.”
“We are,” I replied, “but the Captain of Glorious said we were obliged to help them under the Emergency Articles. He never rescinded that order, as far as I know.”
“He abandoned you!” Father exclaimed.
“We abandoned him, strictly speaking,” said Uncle. “And even without the Emergency Articles, what about the well-being of your fellow men?”
“I’ve never known you to show much concern for that,” Father muttered.
A splash from the other side of the ship told me our boat had been launched.
Father’s gaze shifted to the men climbing over the railing to descend to the boat. “Admit it—you’re hoping the Elangics who Buronoskol put on that ship went mad and killed everyone, so you can help yourself to the artefacts he gave them.”
Uncle snorted. “If that is what I want, what are you so worried about?”
Father’s gaze returned to Glorious. “That not all of them are dead.”
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