The Iron Dirge

The Grave of Empires

by Sam Sykes

A standalone epic fantasy novella starring Sal the Cacophony, who Pierce Brown called a "protagonist for the ages," from Sam Sykes' widely acclaimed Seven Blades in Black and Ten Arrows of Iron.

Sal the Cacophony does not make friends. When you have a magic gun, a trusty blade and rogue mages to hunt, you don’t need them. Sal the Cacophony makes enemies. And when her hunt leads to a town on the edge of nowhere, she finds them in spades: an unassuming mage with a secret, a vengeful bandit queen with ideals and steel to spare, and a colossal, centuries-old beast who has decided now is the best time to migrate.

Sal the Cacophony could be their savior. But as everyone eventually learns, Sal’s “salvation” is usually worse.

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Adult

166 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 8, 2020

About the author

Sam Sykes is the author of Tome Of The Undergates, a vast and sprawling story of adventure, demons, madness and carnage. Suspected by many to be at least tangentially related to most causes of human suffering, Sam Sykes is also a force to be reckoned with beyond literature.

At 25, Sykes is one of the younger authors to have arrived on the stage of literary fantasy. Tome Of The Undergates is his first book, published in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Holland, and Canada. He currently resides in the United States and is probably watching you read this right now.

Reviews

[Vigasia · Rating 5 out of 5]

But it was a good story.

Perfect novella for fans of Sal the Cacophony. We meet another of her targets and some other people I hope we may have a chance to see in the future (I am especially interested in Virian's fate). I loved it!

[Donna Bull · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another gem from Sam. Sometimes I don't know how he can manage to pack so much angst and emotion into so few pages. Back in the Scar with Sal, this time in Paarl's Hollow, going after Rogo the Dervish. Of course nothing is ever simple, so throw in a Compass Beast, the Children of the Dead and a villain who maybe isn't as villainous as you thought. So much depth to Rogo, and Sal as always, is pulled in so many directions emotionally. In all the amazing action and chaos there are so many quiet, intense moments. All the implications of why we do what we do and is the pain and consequences worth it by what is wrought from your actions. Many feels.

"That person we try to leave our swords behind for finds our names, our scars, and suddenly they realize that the person they thought we were isn't who we are. They realize we have a body count a mile long behind us and then they wonder-even if they try their hardest not to-what strange quirk of fate was it that kept them from becoming just another corpse left in a vagrant's wake."

[Boulder Boulderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun short story about a woman with a gun, a bad attitude and an enemy. Haven't read the main series but really should as it seems like it would be lots of fun.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hope Sal finishes her list, and we all get to enjoy her chaotic journey until its completion.

[Kristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just freaking love Sal.

[Elena Hect · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think Dirge suffered slightly for being read after I'd finished the main trilogy - a lot of Sal's monologues in this are rehashed in Ten Arrows or Three Axes, which meant that rereading them here cheapened their impact in the comparatively shorter novella.

Sal's pain and doubt get focused on in this novella a lot more than they do in the rest of the Grave of Empires books, because this isn't a frame narrative like the main novels. It's still our beloved trainwreck protagonist relating the story, telling something that already happened; The Iron Dirge subsists without the additional structure of her telling some poor second party. Sal's not crafting a spin, not making herself an unreliable narrator, and Dirge is rawer for it. We see more of her internal monologue without filters for the interrogator, for the medic, for Liette; this killing doesn't fix anything. But it's all Sal knows how to do.

[Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though Sam Sykes is a garbage person, he does write a good story. This novella follows Sal checking yet another name off of her list and is actually rather good (versus 10 Arrows of Iron, which tries to recapture the lightning from his first novel). I rather enjoyed this one, as it gives a bit more detail on Sal and puts her in a few morally questionable positions, especially since Sal has been rather single-minded about her pursuit of vengeance. Definitely worth a read, and before you read 10 Arrows of Iron.

[Kevin K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another absolute banger!

Sal the Cacophony stirs up some trouble looking for one of the people on her list. It's a great little story that fleshes out The Scar all with Syke's particular style of action.

If you enjoy stories about Sal you'll dig this.

[jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Sal. This going to ignite my re-read something fierce.