Lords of Deception

by Christopher C. Fuchs

Emperors and kings thought it had been buried long ago: the Order of the Candlestone was defeated, the grim deeds of its assassins forgotten and its dangerous alchemy shunned. But Arasemis, an eccentric warrior-scholar, is determined to revive the Order and return the continent to its primitive origins, if he can control his apprentices.

Arthan Valient is a young nobleman from a respected family who wrestles with providing honorable service to a weak king. Thrust into a powerful position before he is ready, Arthan must navigate the political intrigue of a court in slow collapse, while avoiding Arasemis’s new assassins.

Arasemis, Arthan, and their companions learn that help can be found in the most unlikely of places, even as the shadow of war looms across the continent. But trust is always elusive.

596 pages, Paperback

Published October 12, 2019

About the author

UPDATE: As of October 2025, I'm rebranding to Magnacodex and pen name Andrew Newnorth. Old books will be reissued as second editions, and two new novels are in edit!

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I write the Magnacodex epic science fantasy novels, half-tales, and online interactives. My writing has flavors of epic fantasy, historical fiction, adventure, and steampunk. My debut novel, Lords of Deception, is the core of a nonlinear matrix of books that allow readers to wander and explore an alternative Earth that blends new continents and peoples, political intrigue, fictional materials, and customized medieval and early modern technologies. I write from Virginia.

"Top 5 Novel of the Year" – Liviu Suciul, former co-editor of Fantasy Book Critic, Review for Lords of Deception (War of Four Kingdoms 1)

Reviews

[Liviu · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best fantasy debuts I've read in a while. The writing style takes a little to get used to as it is more old fashioned and closer to Dumas say than to modern top class fantasy and same with the naming conventions and more generally the universe of the novel which is complex and with a long history which bears a lot on the novel - while the list of characters and the glossary at the end are really useful, they do have some spoilers so it may be better to just keep reading as things will make sense eventually. However, the depth of the universe, the very interesting characters (heroes, villains, major and minor), the action that keeps one guessing (and the quite high body count of characters for that matter) and more generally the narrative force of this novel is such that once one starts understanding what it is all about and gets a feel for the setting, it is really hard to put it down.

The ending is at a good stopping point and while the next two novels in the universe that are to be released soon happen some centuries before during the colonization of the southern continent by the more advanced technologically northern continent, I definitely plan to read them when they are released while the planned direct sequel of this has become a hugely awaited book (in the timeline of the novel, it is the other way around as now the southern states are more powerful and only a failing treaty keeps them from invading the north, though war in between them also brews and the old age "magic" of the now mostly absorbed southern natives is making an unwelcome at least for the rulers, re-apparition)

I also would recommend exploring the author's page where there are some more details about the world.

Overall highly recommended and a top 5 novel of the year for me.

[Philip Dickinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fuchs has created a large and complex fantasy world styled somewhat on medieval Europe, so there are knights, kingdoms, politics and treachery. That's not all though, because a mysterious order, hell-bent on tearing down the rule of kings, has arcana, martial arts and alchemical arts to draw on.

'Lords of Deception' makes A Game of Thrones look pedestrian. There is high-octane action from the first page that is sustained pretty much all the way through, but matched with political scheming and infighting between a large cast of kings, lords, ladies, aldermen, thieves, rogues etc. I only discovered the list of key characters when I was about 30% in. This is often not a good sign about a story, when you have to keep turning to an appendix, but I needed only one read as Fuchs develops the characters well and helps orient the reader with location and context in the chapter headings.

I confess to some fatigue of the fantasy genre. Too many works include dragons and powerful wizards and then struggle to integrate their absurdly destructive powers into a story peopled with mortals. Because of this, I'm delighted to find that (so far) Fuchs has avoided such nonsense.

I tried hard to find fault in this, but failed, so I really look forward to reading the sequels. I am officially a fan. I congratulate you Christopher C. Fuchs on an impressive debut novel. Ambitious and excellently written.

[Join the Penguin Resistance! · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exciting reader's hook commences a compelling epic fantasy. A medieval type setting offers scope for thrilling action, adventure, and character development. As a rogue scholar determines to change the march of history, a young nobleman of integrity navigates politics and weaknesses of those in power.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is purely plot driven. It focuses on the struggle for power amongst various kingdoms and a group dedicated to restoring an older kingdom and belief system to power. There are assassinations, betrayals and even a touch of romance. The book is a fantasy that has a medieval European feel though there touches of magic and a belief in alchemy. There is little character development as they are all archetypes. There's the young prince forced into a position of power before he's ready, the rebellious princess, the corrupt and power-hungry brother of the king, the mysterious spy etc. The dialogue can also seem trite and even cringe-worthy at times especially when it tries to seem appropriate to the medieval era. In spite of this, the book pulls you along and makes you want to keep reading to find out what happens next. The characters might be stock characters but there's a reason they're popular. They're easy to care about or be wary of. You don't really need to know more about them since you already know what they're like from reading similar titles. The most difficult thing for me to get over was the dialogue but even this problem didn't occur often. I enjoyed the book. It was enjoyable and exciting and I'm looking forward to reading the two other books in the series.

[Kitty Pollock · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can get bad books, average books, good books and then there are books you wish you could wipe from your memory so that you can relive the experience of reading it for the first time again. This is one of those books!

Lords of Deception – An Earthpillar Novel is set in a medieval fantasy setting with a weak king and nobles struggle to remain loyal. The chapters are given in characters points of views, which as always helps the reader get a better understanding and connection. The plot is unique and moves at a great pace, (can't say more without giving away spoilers), the characters themselves are fascinating and relatable. It is refreshing to get a book in which you have a warrior scholar in the one vessel as I'm used to so many books having either one or the other. I cant wait till the next installment, and this series is my new obsession.. Christopher C. Fuchs.....write faster!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher Loremark Publishing for this electronic advanced readers copy of this novel in return for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

[Angelique · Rating 5 out of 5]

This tale was quite intriguing. It's been a while since I've read a medieval-like high fantasy novel. I also liked the idea of Arasemis being a warrior-scholar. Usually, a character is designed to be one or the other. I found all the characters to be intriguing and I loved that it jumped from one character to another. I prefer to be able to capture the story from multiple perspectives, so I love being able to follow different characters!

[Sarah Coleman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a good epic fantasy. The characters were so interesting and I absolutely loved Arthan. I thought he was a very fascinating character and formed some interesting relationships that really helped bring the story along. Let's also not forget the amazing writing skill the author put into this work.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.