Author: Sebastien de Castell
Crucible of Chaos: A Novel of the Court of Shadows
A mortally wounded magistrate faces his deadliest trial inside an ancient abbey where the monks are going mad and the gods themselves may be to blame! Estevar Borros, one of the legendary sword-fighting magistrates known as the Greatcoats and the king’s personal investigator of the supernatural, is no stranger to tales of ghosts and demons.
When the fractious monks of the abbey rumored to be the birthplace of the gods begin warring over claims of a new pantheon arising, the frantic abbot summons him to settle the dispute. But Estevar has his own problems: a near-fatal sword wound from his last judicial duel, a sworn knight who claims he has proof the monks are consorting with demons, a diabolical inquisitor with no love for the Greatcoats, and a mysterious young woman claiming to be Estevar’s ally but who may well be his deadliest enemy.
Armed only with his famed investigative talents, his faltering skill with a blade and Imperious, his ornery mule, Estevar must root out the source of the madness lurking inside the once-sacred walls of Isola Sombra before its chaos spreads to the country he’s sworn to protect. Investigate alongside Estevar and the most heroic mule ever to appear in print in this thrilling swashbuckling fantasy mystery by Sebastien de Castell, author of the Internationally acclaimed Greatcoats and Spellslinger series!
Play of Shadows (Court of Shadows, 1)
Swordplay, magic, intrigue and friendships stronger than iron: the first book in a new swashbuckling fantasy series by the bestselling author of The Greatcoats. Damelas Shademantaigne picked a poor night to flee a judicial duel. He has precious little hope of escaping the wrath of Vixen, the most feared duelist in the entire city, until he stumbles through the stage doors of the magnificent Operato Belleza and tricks his way into the company of actors.
An archaic law provides temporary respite from his troubles–until one night a ghostly voice in his head causes Damelas to fumble his lines, inadvertently blurting out the dreadful truth: the city’s most legendary hero may actually be a traitor and a brutal murderer.
With only the help of his boisterous and lusty friend Bereto, a beautiful assassin whose target may well be Damelas himself, and a company of misfit actor who’d just as soon see him dead, this failed son of two Greatcoats must somehow find the courage within himself to dig up long-buried truths before a ruthless band of bravos known as the Iron Orchids comes for his head. Oh, and there’s the that matter of the Vixen waiting to duel him…
The Malevolent Seven
From the bestselling author of THE GREATCOATS: seven war mages with dark pasts and special powers must come together to fight an unknown enemy – but the stakes are higher than anyone can imagine . . . and someone’s setting the seven up for a fall.
Picture a wizard. Go ahead, close your eyes. There he is, see? Skinny old guy with a long straggly beard. No doubt he’s wearing iridescent silk robes that couldn’t protect his frail body from a light breeze. The hat’s a must, too, right? Big, floppy thing, covered in esoteric symbols that would instantly show every other mage where this gets his magic? Wouldn’t want a simple steel helmet or something that might, you know, protect the part of him most needed for conjuring magical forces from being bashed in with a mace (or pretty much any household object).
Yep. Behold the mighty wizard. Now open your eyes and let me show you what a real war mage looks like . . . but be warned: you’re probably not going to like it, because we’re violent, angry, dangerously broken people who sell our skills to the highest bidder and be damned to any moral or ethical considerations. At least, until such irritating concepts as friendship and the end of the world get in the way. My name is Cade Ombra, and though I currently make my living as a mercenary wonderist, I used to have a far more noble-sounding job title – until I discovered the people I worked for weren’t quite as noble as I’d believed. Now I’m on the run and my only friend, a homicidal thunder mage, has invited me to join him on a suicide mission against the seven deadliest mages on the continent.
Time to recruit some very bad people to help us on this job . . .
Spellslinger
A would-be mage with no magic of his own has to defeat powerful enemies with only cunning and deception in the first book of an exciting adventure fantasy series from Sebastien de Castell.
Kellen is moments away from facing his first duel and proving his worth as a spellcaster. There’s just one problem: his magic is fading. Facing exile unless he can pass the mage trials, Kellen is willing to risk everything – even his own life – in search of a way to restore his magic. But when the enigmatic Ferius Parfax arrives in town, she challenges him to take a different path.
One of the elusive Argosi, Ferius is a traveller who lives by her wits and the cards she carries. Daring, unpredictable, and wielding magic Kellen has never seen before, she may be his only hope.
The first novel in a compelling six-book series, bursting with tricks, humor, and a whole new way to look at magic. Spellslinger SeriesSpellslingerShadowblackCharmcaster For more from Sebastien de Castell, check out: The Greatcoats QuartetTraitor’s BladeSaint’s BloodKnight’s ShadowTyrant’s Throne