Skullsworn

'Brilliant' – V. E. Schwab, Sunday Times bestselling author of A Darker Shade of MagicFor one apprentice assassin, the clock is ticking . . .Pyrre Lakatur doesn’t like the description skullsworn. It doesn’t capture the beauty of her devotion to Ananshael, God of Death. And she’s not an assassin, but a priestess. Or she will be, if she can pass her final trial. The problem isn’t killing, as Pyrre has spent her life training for this. The problem is love. To pass the trial, she will have fourteen days to kill seven people detailed in an ancient song, including one true love, ‘who will not come again’. However, Pyrre has never been in love, time is short, and if she fails she’ll be given to her god. Pyrre’s not afraid to die, but she hates to fail. So a month before the trial begins, she returns to the violent city of her birth, where she once offered an abusive father to the god. Here Pyrre hopes to find love – and end it with the edge of her knife.'Pleasantly grim and emotionally complex' – Kirkus Reviews'Lush, evocative descriptions . . . remarkably intimate' – Publishers WeeklySkullsworn is a thrilling standalone set in the world of the Chronicles of the Unhewn Throne by Brian Staveley.

Brilliant, Pleasantly grim and emotionally complex . . . an accessible entree for new readers, who will undoubtedly go on to consume the rest of the series’, Lush, evocative descriptions sharpen the setting . . . Visceral action scenes and memorable characters bring this tale to life. Despite the outsize aspects of this adventure, it still feels remarkably intimate, Brian Staveley deftly weaves a fast-paced and compelling tale filled with excellent characterization, vivid world-building, and high personal stakes, making this one an outstanding novel on every level, Skullsworn is a fantastic standalone book with a very satisfying conclusion

After more than a decade teaching history, religion, and philosophy, Brian decided to write epic fantasy. He now lives on a steep dirt road in the hills of southern Vermont, where he divides his time between fathering, writing, husbanding, splitting wood, skiing, and adventuring - not necessarily in that order. He is the author of the epic The Chronicles of the Unhewn Throne, which begins with The Emperor's Blades.

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